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The Author. 



ADVENTURES 



OF THE 



A. E. F. SOLDIER 




RILEY STRICKLAND 



■^ 

''^M 



Copyright, 1920 
RILEY STRICKLAND 



©Ci.A565394 






PREFACE. 

Through the medium of this book it is my 
desire to give the reader a fair conception of the 
many experiences and difficulties encountered by 
the average soldier of the American Expedi- 
tionary Forces and the hardships which he en- 
dured from the time he first entered the training 
camp until he returned from overseas and re- 
ceived his discharge. 

In a general way, I have described the many 
and various locations and movements of the Nine- 
tieth Division from its organization to its disso- 
lution. In the training camp, in England, in 
France and in Germany we met with various 
complex problems, strange people and strange 
customs, in addition to the thrills and horrors of 
the Western front. More specifically, I have 
dealt with my own regiment. 

I seek no publicity or medals of honor, but I 
am writing of what I experienced as one of two 
and one-half million. Although the first person 
is used quite frequently, it is solely for the pur- 
pose of establishing the authenticity of the 
volume. In compiling this data I have consulted 



PREFACE 

no military records, but have written simply from 
personal observation and experience. 

I earnestly hope that this book will furnish the 
reader pleasure in following the A. E. F. sol- 
dier through the World War. 

Sincerely, 

Riley Strickland. 



CONTENTS 



Chapter. Page. 

I. OuE First Soldier Days 11 

II. Leaving the States 25 

III. Crossing the Atlantic 35 

IV. A Short Stay in England 46 

Y. Sunny France 52 

VI. BuRE les Templiers 65 

VII. Training for Action 79 

VIII. Off to the Front 86 

IX. A Quiet Sector 95 

X. St. Mihiel 107 

XL Relief 147 

XII. Meuse-Argonne '. 161 

XIII. Peace 191 

XIV. Hiking Into Germany 209 

XV. Die Mosel und der Ehein 227 

XVI. The Army of Occupation 255 

XVII. Watchful Waiting 267 

XVIII. Vacation Days 281 

XIX. Our Last Days in Rhineland 299 

XX. Homeward Bound 311 

XXI. Conclusion 329 

7 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

The Author Frontispiece 

American Convoy to France 40 

Bure les Templiers (Showing Church Built in the 

Middle Ages) 66 

Bure les Templiers 70 

At the Cross-Eoads in the Quiet Sector 94 

Trenches in the Quiet Sector 96 

German Dugout near Pont-a-Mousson 98 

Statue of Jeanne d'Arc, Pont-a-Mousson 100 

German Machine Gun Emplacements Shelled by Our 

Planes * 102 

Railroad Cables Leading to Artillery Positions 104 

Mnetieth Division Headquarters — St. Mihiel Front. 108 

What Our Doughboys Went Through at St. Mihiel. . 110 

Map Showing Part of St. Mihiel Salient 112 

N'inetieth Division Front Lines and Sector Limits.. 114 

American First Aid Station, Fay-en-Haye 116 

Death Valley, Vilcey, France 118 

Vilcey^ France, Showing Destruction 120 

German Machine Gun Emplacements 122 

Shell-torn Cemetery, Pont-a-Mousson 124 

315th Engineers' Cemetery. . " 126 

Fatal Spot for E Company, 315th Engineers 128 

P. C. 2nd Bn. 315 Engineers (Between Fay-en- 
Haye and Montauville) 130 

Forest Destroyed by Shell Fire 134 

Interior of Cathedral, Toul, France 148 



By Going A. W. 0. L. We Found Some Good Eats in 

Toul 152 

Direct Hit by An 8-inch Shell. Meuse- Argonne . . . . 156 

Map to Illustrate Meuse-Argonne Offensive 162 

Ninetieth Division Front Lines and Sector Limits 

on the Meuse 164 

Bridge Repaired by 315th Engineers. 166 

Silvery France, Verdun Front 168 

German Planes Brought Down by Our Aviator 172 

Map Showing Part of Meuse-Argonne Offensive. . . . 178 

Scene at Dun-sur-Meuse 180 

Buildings Wrecked by Gernian Shells 182 

Wagon Bridge Across the Meuse 186 

Swing Bridge Across the Meuse 188 

French Civilians Returning Home 202 

Crown Prince's Home, Stenay, France 204 

Lieser an der Mosel (Headquarters 315th Engineers) 224 
Berncastel-Cues, Germany (Ninetieth Division Head- 
quarters) 232 

Filzen aji der Mosel, Showing Houses Three Cen- 
turies Old 236 

Depot at Lieser, Showing Vineyards in the Back- 
ground 246 

Cues, Germany, Where Some of Our Boys Were 

Laid to Rest 276 

Ninetieth Di^dsion Passing in Review for General 

Pershing 301 

Ruins of Verdun. . 310 

Hun Prisoners Working for France 312 

Homeward Bound 320 



10 



ADVENTURES OF THE A. E. F. SOLDIER 



CHAPTER I. 

OUR FIRST SOLDIER DAYS. 

War had been declared on Germany. The 
Selective Service Act had been passed and the 
tremendous problem of mobilizing an army suf- 
ficient to effect a speedy conclusion of the world 
struggle was being solved. 

Camp Travis was being built. The skeleton 
of the Ninetieth Division was being made up of 
various detachments from the different camps 
throughout the United States. In September 
the draftees began to arrive in camp, followed by 
more in October. The War Department sus- 
pended the sending of any more during the 
winter months, but in February and March, 
1918, and each month thereafter, trainloads of 
Texas and Oklahoma boys arrived in camp to 
begin their career in the military world. 

It was on April 26, 1918, that the writer, with 
thirteen others, left the station of one of the best 
towns in East Texas, bidding good-bye to the 

11 



12 Adventures op the A. E. F. Soldiee 

throng of good people who had assembled there 
to honor our departure. All were cheerful, and 
w^e who were leaving had the sentiment of "Send 
Me Away With a Sniile." Our train was late 
and we did not leave until about 9 p. m. For 
our first few miles our trip seemed perfectly 
normal, but we took on more soldiers at every 
county seat and junction. Sometimes we would 
connect on an entire car full of civilian-clad sol- 
diers. When we first left we had a good chair- 
car, but pretty soon we had to give it up for a 
smoker. By midnight the train ceased to be a 
commercial train and was used exclusively for 
soldiers. 

At the break of day the next morning com- 
plaints of hunger came from every corner ; how- 
ever, we were soon served our first army meal, 
which was very good and made us feel very 
refreshed, sending our morale skyward. On and 
on we rolled, taking on more coaches filled to 
their capacity with soldiers at every junction until 
at last our train contained some eighteen or 
twenty coaches. Near Austin we were met by a 
reception committee, which was a squadron of 
aeroplanes that escorted us to San Antonio. 
Some of us wondered if they had brought us 



Our Fiest Soldiek Days 13 

any dinner, because we were all beginning to 
get hungry. As we finally pulled into the switch 
yards in San Antonio all of us were exceedingly 
vigilant in hopes of locating a sandwich vendor, 
but none was seen. We got switched out to 
Camp Travis about 4 p. m. It was raining and 
the mud was sticky. No dinner had been had 
yet, and it was then that the natural character- 
istic of the soldier — that is, complaint — began 
to germinate. 

We were then marched into a reception room 
wondering all the time if it was a dining room. 
It proved to be a long floorless barn, dubbed the 
''Bull Pen,'' filled with the most inquisitive char- 
acters one ever saw. Before we had a chance 
at another meal we had to stop there and answer 
all those fool questions. We had to give our 
pedigree in full from Alpha to Omega, tell 
whether or not we sprang from a monkey, and 
if so, just how far we had really sprung. Also, 
we had to give in detail how much readin', 'ritin' 
and 'rithmetic we had had, how many lickings 
we ever got in school and how many times we 
had climbed on top of the schoolhouse and placed 
boards on the chimney to smoke the teacher out, 
et cetera. 



14 Adventuees oe the A. E. F. Soldier 

After our initiation at the Bull Pen we were 
then herded together like so many cattle and 
taken to our new home, which was a very hard 
trip through the heavy mud and rain and with no 
dinner in sight. Our particular bunch had to go 
just as far as possible in the last barracks of the 
depot brigade. When we got there our guide 
told us that these barracks were our new home, 
then we thought surely that the next thing would 
be a good hot dinner. In this we were sadly dis- 
appointed. We had to go through another ordeal 
of answering questions, telling all about our fam- 
ily tree and the various and sundry branches 
thereof, with our first name last and the last 
name first, etc., and vice versa, all so audibly 
and distinctly that there could be no probabilities 
of misunderstanding. All of this was done with 
our minds on something to eat. 

Next came our housekeeping outfit, which was 
considerably abbreviated. If they put out any 
silk and linen bed-clothes, yours truly got cheated, 
because all I got was a ducking bed-tick, some 
aluminum eating plates and cups, barracks bag 
and towels. I was soon steered to a huge straw 
stack with my bed-tick, and thus a good bed was 
made. 



OuE First Soldier Days 15 

In a few more minutes we were marched into 
a long dining room, which would hold about two 
hundred and fifty men, and after the mess ser- 
geant had commanded us to sit down we got 
away with a vast quantity of beans, bacon, bread 
and coffee. No ten course dinner ever tasted 
better than this second army meal. 

Our first two or three days in camp were passed 
off rather pleasantly, because it rained so hard we 
couldn't drill; however, we had from one to 
twenty-seven roll calls each day and as many 
examinations and inspections. . 

Some very interesting things happened at the 
physical examinations, especially to those who 
really desired to be unfit for military service. 
In one particular instance the doctor was testing 
the ears. The victim was some few feet from 
him and pretended that he could not hear him 
whispering as the others had. The doctor's sus- 
picions were aroused, and, lowering his voice, he 
whispered, "Can't you hear that?" The patient 
replied, "No, Sir." He was immediately pro- 
nounced physically fit for military service and 
marched back to his barracks and perhaps given 
a few days of K. P. If the reader has not been 
a soldier he may think that it means Knights of 



16 Adventures Of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

Pythias, but far be it from that; in the army it 
means Kitchen PoHce. 

Quite a lot of fun was had around our barracks. 
We were fortunate enough to have with us one 
of the most comical fellows in the National Army. 
He k&i^t the entire bunch in a continual uproar 
of laughter all the time. On one occasion he 
requested the captain for permission to guard a 
measles barracks, which was granted, and while 
walking his post he was ''hard-boiled" with all 
passersby, making several of them pick up 
matches, cigarette butts, etc., off the ground. 

In a few days the ground dried off and drilling 
began. Those who aspired to be a corporal would 
get a squad off from the others and give com- 
mands until they were hoarse. The lieutenants 
specially emphasized the importance of physical 
exercise, and we were given one hour of that 
each day. Some of us who could scarcely bend 
when we first arrived in camp soon became real 
active fellows. 

There is some contrast between an army camp 
and home. Usually when told to do anything 
at home the command is often met with "Wait 
a minute,'' ''As soon as I finish this," etc. ; while 
in the training camp when the sergeant's whistle 



OuE First Soldiee Days 17 

blows it is best not to argue the question about it. 
Many letters to mother, dad, sister, sweetheart 
and friend have been abruptly suspended, as well 
as domino games, dice games, etc., when we had 
to fall out to police the premises. 

Our first few reveille formations were worth 
seeing. Ofttimes some fellow would come down 
with one shoe in his hand or carrying his coat 
on his arm. Over half the shoes down the line 
were unlaced or unbuttoned. One morning one 
fellow was late, and the lieutenant, being highly 
displeased, gruffly asked him what was the mat- 
ter. The man tediously explained that he had 
misplaced his trousers and had thus been delayed. 
The officer told him to let the trousers go the next 
time and come on to reveille on time regardless 
of anything else. After that the poor fellow 
slept with his trousers on all the time, and they 
were not pulled off until he discarded them for 
khakis about two weeks afterward. 

A thing not to be forgotten was the ordeal of 
inoculations for smallpox and typhoid. The for- 
mer only required one shot, but the latter required 
three at intervals of one week each. Here is 
where the gloomy side of army life began. Some 
of the boys got so sick that they would often fall 



18 Adven-tukes of the A. E. F. Soldier 

out of ranks while drilling or standing in for- 
mation. One poor fellow skinned his face horribly 
by falling while standing at attention. 

I remember quite well how the smallpox vac- 
cination and the second typhoid shot affected me. 
I was so sick that I could do nothing but roll on 
my bunk, and as both of my arms were sore I 
could not even dd that. I was not working at 
the company where I bunked, but was on special 
duty about a half mile away. I played hooky 
several days. I told the sergeant that I was so 
sick that I couldn't walk to the infirmary, but he 
said that I would have to if I wanted any med- 
icine. So, about I p. m., I walked up to the in- 
firmary to find a line of about one hundred and 
fifty rookies ahead of me. The sun was broiling 
hot and we had to wait outside until they could 
get to us. About 3 p. m. it came my turn. The 
doctor gave me a big dose of salts and sent me 
back to my bunk. That afternoon I would have 
traded my position in the army for thirty cents 
and probably could have been jewed down a bit 
from that price. 

Besides making one temporarily sick, those vac- 
cinations would sometimes make a permanent sore 
on the arm of such degree as to disqualify one for 



Our First Soldier Days 11> 

overseas service. Later, however, when we were 
enduring the hardships of the trenches we learned 
to appreciate the benefits derived from those inoc- 
ulations. There were very few cases of typhoid 
and smallpox in the American Army. We should, 
indeed, feel grateful to the revelations of medical 
science. 

We were soon fitted up in uniforms, and it was 
not long before we began to look like real soldiers. 
Our civilian clothing was cast aside, some being 
donated to the Belgian Relief Committee and the 
remainder sent home. This was really a serious 
period in our lives, because many civilian suits 
were sent home never to be donned again, the 
owner later dying on the field of battle in France 
and being laid to rest in a soldier's grave. The 
Y. M. C. A.'s were filled to their capacity the next 
few days with parcels post and express packages 
which carried the surplus clothing back to their 
old homes for a few months' or years' rest. 

Fitting six thousand new men out and out was 
no small task, and in most instances the real fit- 
ting became a personal problem for each individ- 
ual to solve. We were told to trade among 
ourselves where a mutual exchange would result 
in a fit to either or both, so if John Doe had a No, 



20 -Adventuees or the A. E. F. Soldiee 

6 coat which would fit Richard Roe, and vice 
versa, an exchange was in order so that both 
would be accommodated. The supply sergeants, 
anxious to get the job over with, would usually 
tell us that he had nothing left to fit us and that 
we must take chances on a trade, or that the camp 
laundry charged by the month and that a No. 
lo coat would shrink to a No. 6 after being laun- 
dered. This practice was the same during our 
entire career except in the boundaries of No 
Man's Land, in France, where the advantages of 
the camp laundry were not amplified. 

Now that we were all dressed up in army uni- 
lorms, we needed discipline. Good conduct is 
the running mate of good dress. Many laugh- 
able things happened in the period that we were 
in the training camps. 

One morning after a lieutenant had lectured 
for an hour or more on military courtesy and dis- 
cipline, with special emphasis on the rule that a 
soldier must stand rigidly at attention while con- 
versing with an officer, he concluded by saying 
that he appreciated the fact that we were all new, 
and if any of us desired to ask any questions he 
would be very glad to give us what information 
he could. One fellow near the steps where the 



Our First Soldier Days it 

officer was standing leaned over with one hand 
on his hip and with one foot on the lower step 
and asked, "Well, could you tell me how I could 
manage to get out of this foot brigade?" The 
lieutenant stated that the infantry was the best 
branch in the service, but that if he really wanted 
a transfer he must first learn to stand at attention. 

One night one of our bunch had orders to re- 
port to the orderly room after supper to do some 
clerical work. We had had our second shot the 
night before, and upon the rooky's arrival the 
lieutenant asked him how he felt, whereupon he 
responded, "Well, feller, I feel pretty tough/' 
The lieutenant bawled him out for his intimacy 
and told him that he was excused for the night. 

One of the funniest things that was told to 
have happened in Camp Travis was a joke that 
one of the soldiers pulled on a captain. The sol- 
dier reported to the orderly room for duty, and 

instead of saying, "Sir, Private reports 

for duty,'' he merely asked, "What did you want 
with me?" The captain criticised his lacking 
in military courtesy, and told him to sit down at 
the desk and the captain would demonstrate the 
proper way to report for duty, and that the pri- 
vate could play the part of the officer and assign 



22 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

him to duty. After the necessary preliminaries 
of knocking at the door, entering and saluting, 
the captain said, ''Sir, Private so and so reports 
for duty." The private looked up from the desk 

and said, "Ah, get to h out of here; I don't 

need you for anything.'' 

Some very clever efforts were made by those 
so determined to get into a branch of the service 
which they most desired. The sergeants were 
wise to the various schemes of the new men. One 
day the sergeants called for all who could drive 
a Ford, and many with ambitions to be army 
chauffeurs promptly stepped forward. The ser- 
geant replied that they might do well around 
kitchen machinery, and they were placed on K. P. 
In like manner, several would-be carpenters were 
told that they would probably make good wood- 
cutters. 

We were soon out of quarantine, but before 
we had time to appreciate our liberty we were 
being transferred to the various branches of the 
division. The crowds who had been together 
in the initial army days and who had enjoyed 
many hearty laughs together over the many pecu- 
liar and funny things that had happened in the 
making of a soldier were scattered to the pro- 
verbial four winds of the earth. 



OUE FlEST SOLDIEE DayS 23 

Uncle Sam's great process of transforming a 
population who had theretofore known nothing 
but peace into one that must learn military ways 
in order to defend Liberty was progressing rap- 
idly. The Huns were threatening Paris and we 
could not lose any time. The Ninetieth Divi- 
sion was being filled to combat strength pre- 
paratory to going overseas, and the Depot 
Brigade was soon culled to a mere skeleton. 
Several trainloads of new recruits from Camp 
iDodge, Iowa, were brought to the great arm^y 
camp in Southwest Texas. 

Our infantry, which later proved to be of the 
''none-better" quality, was on the job with its 
training schedule. All the new men were given 
rifles, bayonets and other necessary equipment 
and sent to the target range at Camp Boullis, and 
the Bull's Eye was the chief objective for several 
days. We were actually going into fight, and 
our doughboys must be able to drive Fritz into 
consternation when the time would come for 
them to go "Over the Top." The bayonet drill 
was not neglected, and many Fritz dummies were 
subjected to furious attacks by our infantrymen. 

Although we were working hard now, we were 
glad to be out of quarantine and have a chance 



24 Adye^vttuees of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

to go to San Antonio occasionally. Wednesday, 
Saturday and Sunday afternoons and nights were 
the times most passes to town were issued. It 
was a great treat to eat at the swell cafes after 
having had army chow for several days ; however, 
all the places observed the rules of Hooverization 
to the nth degree. In one place there was a sign 
"Ask for one lump of sugar only. Stir like hell,, 
we don't mind the noise." 

Trips to Brackenridge Park, Hot Wells and 
the old missions afforded very wholesome recre- 
ation. The shows in town were greatly enjoyed, 
while the Gunter and the St. Anthony Hotels 
afforded a splendid rendezvous for meeting out- 
of-town friends 

At Rendezvous Park, just outside of Camp 
Travis, dances were held almost every night, the 
participants being the soldiers, the Red Cross and 
Y. M. C. A. girls, and the girls employed at the 
camp laundry. They were properly chaperoned 
and all had many pleasant hours. 

We had been hearing various rumors for quite 
a while about going to France, and when some 
of the boys who had been promised furloughs 
began to be refused we began to think seriously 
about the matter. 



Leaving the States 25 . 

CHAPTER II. 

LEAVING THE STATES. 

The Ninetieth Division was nearing comple- 
tion. Other small contingents of draftees had 
come into the Depot Brigade and some were 
promptly transferred to the Division. 

The gossip began to spread, ''We're going 
to France." There was no doubt of our going 
but of course no one knew definitely just when 
we would leave. 

All outward signs revealed our expectations. 
Details were at work making boxes, crates, 
etc. Wagons, carts and harness were being 
painted and oiled and taken apart and crated 
for shipment. All men were being issued 
overseas equipment, and every man was re- 
quired to write his name on every article in his 
possession. All necessary equipment that was 
not needed before our expected departure was 
packed up and designated "American Expedi- 
tionary Force.'' 

Infirmaries were on the job conducting the 
overseas physical examination and, also, com- 
pleting every man's t3^phoid and smallpox in- 



.26 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

oculations. Our regimental surgeon impressed 
the fact upon the men that the inoculation 
must be on paper as well as in the arm, and 
warned each man to see personally that the 
required number of ''shots" was inserted in his 
service record. 

Other domestic and social signs proved that 
we were not expected to remain in Camp 
Travis much longer. Men who had wives 
temporarily living in San Antonio began to 
make arrangements for them to go back 
''home." Fathers and mothers flocked to San 
Antonio to bid good-bye to their sons. Sweet- 
hearts and sisters came to tell the boys good- 
b3^e, and in some instances weddings were sol- 
emnized, and the bride would bid hubby 
"God speed." All the boys were allowed 
passes as far as consistently could be arranged. 
The company commanders themselves did 
not know just when we would leave, but they 
would grant passes quite liberally until the 
final quarantine went into effect. 

It was about that time that "censorship" 
began. We were forbidden to write or wire 
that we were going so soon. This seemed 
rather severe, because many relatives and 



Leaving the States 27 

friends failed to see some loved one and bid 
him a fond farewell, because they could not 
find out when to come or when the troop train 
would pass through the home-town. However, 
we all realized that it was necessary that we 
keep our intention hidden from German spies, 
so we took it all good-naturedly. 

Thus the last few days in Camp Travis were 
spent in good-byes, tears and suspense until 
Wednesday, June 5, 191 8, one year from the 
first registration day, the first trainload of 
Camp Travis started for France, and the 
writer was on that train. 

Our regiment was divided into three sec- 
tions. The first one left the station about 10 
a. m. As we rolled out northeastward over 
Texas we wondered when we would see the dear 
old Lone Star State again. Our second section 
caught up with us at Palestine and brought the 
report that one of their men had gone "over the 
hill" a few hours previous. His home was in 
that locality, and, presumptively, he was home- 
sick. Perhaps he was later disturbed, as details 
of M. P.'s were promptly sent back in search of 
him. 

About 2 a. m. we passed through the good old 



28 Adventures oe the A. B. F. Soldier 

town of Longview, which I had called my 
home for somf,e four years. I had expected 
everybody to be slumbering peacefully, but the 
news had leaked out that we were likely to 
come through at any time, and the town was too 
patriotic to allow any of the boys to go through 
without another good-bye, so there was a great 
crowd at the station. One of my friends asked 
me where we were going. I told him that I 
didn't know, and that I was not supposed to 
tell if I did, but we had been going directly 
toward France ever since we left San Antonio 
and we were still headed in that direction. 

We arrived in Texarkana Thursday at 7 a. 
m., and thence pulled out through the swamps, 
pines, sweet gums and razor backs of dear old 
Arkansas. We reached Little Rock about 2 p. 
m., where we got off for a few minutes and in- 
dulged in a little calesthenics. We then pro- 
ceeded on our journey through the northern 
part of the State, arriving in Poplar Bluff, Mo., 
about 8 p. m., where we got off and sang to the 
citizens that we were ''going over and would 
not come back till it was over over there," etc., 
and we told K-K-K-Katie that we'd be waiting 
at the k-k-k-kitchen door. As we continued 



Leaving the States 29 

our journey through the "show me" State many 
quartettes were appropriately singing the Mis- 
souri Waltz. 

The next morning we awoke to find our- 
selves running along the side of the Great 
Father of Waters. We arrived in St. Louis 
about 8 a. m., and after a short stay we crossed 
the bridge to East St. Louis and started across 
the beautiful State of Illinois. At Mattoon, 
Illinois, we got off and marched through the 
city. It was a prosperous railroad town in a 
pretty prairie country, and the beauty of each 
was supplemented by a green law^n. In the 
latter respect, as well as in size, the town seemed 
like a twin of Beaumont, Texas. Later in the 
afternoon we passed through Terre Haute, In- 
diana, and arrived in Indianapolis about sunset. 
In the night we passed into Ohio and arrived in 
Cleveland the next morning. 

All day Saturday we ran along Lake Erie 
enjoying the cool breeze. Between Erie, Pa., 
and Buffalo, we saw many grape vineyards, 
where an immense quantity of Bryan's favorite 
beverage is made each year. We arrived in 
Rochester about night, and after a short rest 
and some singing we were treated w4th ice 



30 Adventuees oe the A. E. F. Soldier 

cream, candies and cigarettes by the Red 
Cross. After leaving Rochester we soon 
reached the beautiful Catskill Mountains and 
the Hudson, which made a splendid combina- 
tion of scenery. It was "moonlight on the 
Hudson," and as the cool mountain air found 
its way through our open windows we regret- 
ted that we had to sleep some. We arrived in 
New York the next morning about lo a. m., 
just four days and nights from the time we 
left Camp Travis. 

Not all of the Division moved over the same 
route as we did. Instead of having stories of 
the pretty prairie farms of Illinois and Indiana, 
the -cold breeze of Lake Erie, the grape-juice 
section of Pennsylvania and New York, the 
scenery of the Hudson, etc., boys of other 
units told of the many wheat fields of Kansas, 
the Blue Grass of Kentucky and the Blue 
Ridge Mountains of Virginia. 

One regiment was detained in Camp Travis 
for several days because of the discovery of a 
spy. A soldier had learned the exact scheduled 
date of the departure and the definite route 
over which his unit would move. He attempted 
to send a cablegram to Germany disclosing all 



Leaving the States 31 

the information, but he was caught by the au- 
thorities, segregated from his organization 
and deprived of his trip to Germany with the 
other boys. The moving date of the entire reg- 
iment was deferred several days. 

We enjoyed our trip from San Antonio to 
New York. We had splendid accommodations 
all the way. The train was composed exclu- 
sively of Pullman cars, with the exception of a 
car for baggage and a box car for the kitchen, 
which was on the job all the time. There were 
two seats to every three men, thus giving the 
upper berth to one man only, while the other 
two occupied the lower. Our meals were car- 
ried to our coaches where we were served in 
our mess kits. All this was some contrast to 
what we later encountered in traveling through 
France. The Red Cross was our friend at all 
the large cities where we stopped. The people 
all along the route would shout with joy as 
we passed by, and as we glided over the beau- 
tiful farms and saw Old Glory waving there,. 
as well as at the homes of the cities, we real- 
ized more than ever before that we had the 
best country in the world and that we must 
hurry on across the Atlantic and keep the fight 



32 Adventuees oe the A. E. F. Soldier 

over there, so that the pillaging Hun could not 
get a chance to plunder and destroy our beau- 
tiful land of the free and home of the brave. 

After having crossed the ferry into Nev^ 
York City proper, we entrained again and went to 
Camp Mills, Long Island. Our stay there was 
rather brief. Our time was spent in complet- 
ing our equipment and more overseas exami- 
nations. 

Although we had seen quite a few aerial 
stunts in San Antonio, we kept our heads in 
the air a great deal at Camp Mills, because the 
planes were as thick as blackbirds. Those fly- 
ers were chiefly the ones who had already qual- 
ified for overseas service and were more pro- 
ficient than the amateurs in the Southern 
camps. They could make any spin, dive or 
loop that the human mind can possibly con- 
ceive of. 

We had plenty of rain while on Long Island 
which gave us an idea of what life in the muddy 
trenches was going to be like. We did not 
have our good barracks like those in Camp 
Travis, as Camp Mills was only a concentra- 
tion camp and not used at all for training pur- 
poses. . There we lived in floorless tents. We 



Leaving the States 33 

waked up one morning to find ourselves float- 
ing in water. Some wondered if the Atlantic 
Ocean was out of banks. We went to work 
with picks and shovels ditching the water out 
of the tents and digging large square holes for 
receptacles for the surplus. Occasionally 
some soldier wading through the mud would 
suddenly plunge off into one of those holes and 
get a muddy bath, while the bystanders laughed. 

Very few of our regiment went down to the 
city while we were there, although some got 
passes to Mineola and Jamaica. Many of the 
boys of the other units, however, went to 
^'town'' and learned a great deal of the whims 
and wherefores of the world's greatest city. 

We soon began to realize that we were about 
to tell the dear old United States good-bye, 
but we were all ready to go and get the job 
over with. We reasoned that the sooner we 
got over the sooner we would get back. We 
could not tell how long we would stay in Camp 
Mills. Army gossip now began to spread. 
Some said that we were going to Hoboken; 
others said that we were going through Can- 
ada or down the St. Lawrence. Others said 
that we were not going an3^where for a few 



34 xIdventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

weeks, but about Wednesday night as we 
loaded our freight and baggage on the little 
train we thought we knew where we were 
going. 

On Thursday, June 13th, we put on our 
packs, hiked through the mud to the train and 
were soon on another ferryboat in the harbor 
going across to Brooklyn Harbor. We waited 
there in the wharves and were served coffee and 
sandwiches by the Red Cross. About 6 p. m. 
we steamed away. The old Statue of Liberty 
in the distance seemed to be weeping in admi- 
ration as if she realized that it was for her 
preservation that we were going to Europe, 
and perhaps many of the boys' eyes were a 
bit moist as they looked at the Goddess and 
realized that it v/ould be a long time before 
they could see the U, S. A. again, if ever. So, 
with a feeling of sorrow, blended with the sat- 
isfaction of doing one's duty, the troops on the 
S. S. Huntsend were soon towed out of sight 
of the great city and, for us, it was ''Good-bye 
Broadway, Hello France." 



Ceossing the Atlantic 35 

CHAPTER III. 

CROSSING THE ATLANTIC. 

Anyone who has not been on a crowded 
transport such as the Sammies had to ride 
when the AlHed side looked so gloomy can 
hardly realize what it is. Paris was threatened 
every minute since the break through the lines 
at St. Quentin, March 21st, and Uncle Sam had 
to get us across; consequently, the ships were 
packed to their limited capacity and then some. 

When we first pulled out from the harbor 
no one could go upon deck until we got out of 
sight of land. No smoking was allowed after 
dark, and no one with rank lower than captain 
could carry a flash light. Every precaution 
was taken to avoid detection. There was not 
much complaint about those restrictions, be- 
cause the subs were simply playing havoc, even 
on our Atlantic Coast, and it was not hard to 
realize the danger that we were in. 

A further precaution was practiced for pro- 
tection against submarines. We had boat drill 
about twice each day. The signal was one 
long and four short blasts of the siren. No 



36 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

matter where you were or what you were doing 
you must stop and assemble at a certain place 
on deck, each company, platoon, squad and 
man had a certain designated area on the ship 
to go to when the signal was sounded, as well 
as a certain route to take to get there. Even 
had there been an explosion there would not 
have been very many lives lost, because we 
would have had ample time to get into the life 
boats; everything was carried out so systemat- 
ically, like everything else in our great army — 
no stampedes, no rioting — everyone patient 
and waiting for his turn to come. 

Strict obedience to the siren's warning was 
noticeable. The actual signal would have been 
the same, and we were not positive that a tor- 
pedo had not hit us when the whistle sounded. 
It was a common thing to see some soldier 
with lather on one side of his face and the 
other side unshaven at the boat drill. In con- 
nection with the boat drill, there w^as usually 
an inspection of personal appearance. 

The officers had good staterooms, and many 
of the sergeants had good saloons, but the men 
occupied the regular troop deck and were 
crowded horribly. Eighteen men occupied a 



Ceossing the Atlantic 37 

space about 500 cubic feet, both for eating and 
sleeping. There were long benches on each 
side of a long table which served for our dining 
table, library table, etc., and our bedroom 
suites consisted of a hammock swung from the 
ceiling above. We had some good beds down 
at our infirmary, however, and I was fortunate 
enough to cop one of them. All who could 
slept on the deck every night. We had three 
blankets and a shelter half each, and it being 
June we were able to keep quite comfortable 
until we got up around Halifax; then it began 
to be rather cold at nights. Down in those 
troop decks, or holes, there was not room to 
cuss the proverbial cat. All of our equipment 
had to be crammed in under the table or above 
the joists overhead. 

The Huntsend was operated by the English, 
and we could not appreciate their cooking any 
too well. Just imagine an immense vat, the 
size that the Texans and Missourians would 
use for dipping longhorn cattle and mules, 
filled with beans, prunes, soup, coffee and tea, 
and you have some conception of what enor- 
mous quantities had to be cooked. We got rather 
tired of stewed liver, salty herring and "tay''; 



38 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

however, we had good jam, oleomargarine and 
bread. One of our majors who was in charge 
of the ship explained to the cooks that many of 
us were from the South and preferred our food 
fried or boiled instead of raw or stewed, after 
which there was some improvement. The chow 
was carried in large pans from the kitchen 
upon deck to our "dining rooms,'' where it was 
served. It was nothing uncommon to see a 
K. P. apparently trying to loop the loop while 
going down the slick steps, spilling soup, cof- 
fee, tea, or what not on whoever happened to 
be in the danger zone, which ofttimes included 
the hatchway below. Most of the boys had six 
meals each day — three down and three up. It 
was a pitiful sight to see a bunch of boys lined 
up along the rail trying so hard to make the 
correct pronunciation of the famous river on 
the Western Front — Ourcq. 

The Huntsend had some three thousand 
men and officers on board, which consisted of 
Companies C, D, E, F, Train and Medical of 
the 315th Engineers, and a part of the 89th 
Division Artillery. The usual rivalry between 
organizations was prevalent to the extent that 
the climax was a few hand-to-hand difficulties. 



Ceossing the Atlantic 39 

It did not take long to get order restored, how- 
ever, and the boys heeded the warning that 
they must conserve their energy to fight the 
Germans with rather than waste it fighting 
among themselves. 

A and B Companies of our Regiment had 
left New York ahead of us on a much larger 
ship, the Olympia, with the 360th Infantry. 
They did not go via Liverpool, but went di- 
rectly to Southampton, resting there about one 
da}^ and proceeding on to France, arriving 
there before we landed in Liverpool. Some 
of the other Regiments were seeing London 
the day we reached our destination in France, 
July 4th, and the rear was leaving New York 
City. 

On Sunday, June i6th, we steamed into Hal- 
ifax harbor. We could plainly see the deso- 
late section of the city which had been elimi- 
nated from the commercial world by the awful 
explosion of December 6, 1917. We anchored 
about 10:30 a. m., but none were allowed to 
debark. We had both Protestant and Catholic 
Church services, and all felt thankful that we 
had traveled for more than two days among 
the submarines and had escaped disaster. In 



r 



ifX^'T^'i«r-'Stfini- I 



^l 



40 



Ckossixg the Atlantic 41 

the afternoon we enjoyed a splendid concert 
by the Artillery's band. 

Although it was June, it was cold in Hali- 
fax. As we stood around and shivered with 
our overcoats on, we certainly did not envy 
the eskimo because of his cool place of abode; 
however, we could have used a bit of his warm 
clothing. We wondered if the new recruits 
on the drill grounds at Camp Travis were not 
enduring a far more unpleasant and different 
climate for their first School of the Company, 
etc. 

We remained in Halifax about twenty-seven 
hours, waiting for our convoy, leaving about 
I p. m. Monday, June 17th, after having un- 
loaded a few pneumonia patients. When we 
got out of sight of land again we realized that 
we were doomed to a long and divergent voy- 
age in order to dodge the U-boats, and it was 
eleven days before we saw land again. 

On our long voyage everything moved along 
as smoothly as could be expected. We had a 
canteen with us which supplied us with plenty 
of candies, cigars, cigarettes, etc. We also had 
a Y. M. C. A. library with plenty of good books 
and games. Many of the boys had string in- 



42 Adve^^tuees of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

struments with them, and quite a lot of rag 
music was indulged in. Several good singers 
composed parodies on popular songs which 
portrayed the various sides and angles of army 
life. Our chaplain would occasionally conduct 
singings in which we told the waves of the At- 
lantic that we would soon occupy the castles 
on the River Rhine, and that we'd sing Yankee 
Doodle Unter den Linden, etc. All of those 
pleasant pastimes were very beneficial in 
keeping the morale of the troops in an A-i con- 
dition. There was some studying on board, 
and a few classes were conducted the same as 
if in camp. As a whole, our time on the ship 
was well spent. 

Almost daily we would receive wireless mes- 
sages of the fighting on the front. Just then 
our marines were fighting in Belleau Wood 
with a gallantry that had never been exceeded, 
and very encouraging reports came to us of 
their daily progress. During the first days of 
our journey we received the nev/s that the 
jungle was completely in their hands and that 
numerous prisoners had been taken. In fact, 
the tide of the great war was turning as we 
were crossing the Atlantic. 



Ceossing the Atlantic 43 

In 'our association with the Tommies who 
composed the ship's crew we heard some in- 
teresting stories. We would spend quite a 
lot of our time conversing with them and bor- 
ing them with questions. The Englishmen 
commented considerably about our cheerful- 
ness in spite of the U-boats. They said that 
we acted as if we thought we were going on a 
picnic. Their tales about the German Army 
varied considerably. Some would say that the 
German soldiers were all old men and young 
boys, while others said that there were many 
middle-aged men yet in the Hun Army. We 
made constant inquiries of the various aspects 
of the war, the chief question being "How long 
do you think the war will last?" One of our 
boys, anxious to get some consolation, asked 
that question, and the answer was, ''The first 
seven years is usually the worst." That fellow 
did not bother the Englishmen any more. 

On and on we rocked across the waves which 
were sometimes more or less careless and 
would splash all over the mid-deck. Down at 
the infirmary we had a few patients, and we 
had orders to not open the portholes of their 
rooms. Thev had been in bed some three or 



44 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

four days, and the ship surgeon said that they 
must not get out. One day the man on duty 
with the patients left the portholes open, and 
while standing out on deck he saw an angry 
wave coming. He made a dash for the sick- 
room, but too late. When he got down there 
he found everything floating in water. The 
patients got out of bed without a bit of trouble. 
All their clothing and the bed-clothes were 
saturated with water. The man on duty the 
day before had given one of the patients twice 
the required amount of salts, and the latter 
was not sick very much longer. 

Our convoy consisted of nine other trans- 
ports, one freighter and two submarine de- 
stroyers. One morning everything was quiet 
and peaceful and we were falling out for boat 
drill. We saw and heard a shot fired from one 
of the destroyers, presumptively at a subma- 
rine. We did not learn whether any damages 
were done either by or to the supposed U-boat, 
but our ship made the entire voyage unharmed. 

About four days before we reached Liver- 
pool our Major in charge of the ship was not 
satisfied v\^ith the promised improvement in the 
chow, so he placed our own mess sergeants in 



Crossing the Atlantic 45 

charge of the cooking. After that our eats 
were more satisfactory, and the new sergeants 
apparently exercised their authority, as one of 
the Englishmen came down to the infirmary 
about daylight one morning with a broken 
nose, and upon pointed inquiry it was revealed 
that an American mess-sergeant had done it. 

About three days before we reached Liver- 
pool a British convoy of U-boat destroyers 
met us and escorted us safely back to England. 
On June 27th we saw land, the coast of Ire- 
land, and the convoy split up, some going to 
Queensborough, Ireland, and others to various 
English ports. On the 28th our ship steamed 
into Liverpool harbor and the message was 
immediately cabled back that we had arrived 
safelv overseas. 



46 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

CHAPTER IV. 

A SHORT STAY IN ENGLAND. 

Immediately after our arrival in Liverpool 
harbor we marched through the main part of 
the city to the depot to take the train. There 
w^as no unusual demonstration. Liverpool had 
seen lots of the Sammies before and we created 
no extraordinary excitement. There was the 
ordinary hustle of the busy city, with the usual 
number of pedestrians who greeted us with 
smiles, the waving of hats and the display of 
Union Jacks and Old Glory. Liverpool has 
more houses of uniform size and -design than 
any other city in the world. All the dwellings are 
two stories or more and have walls of gray 
stone and roofs of red tile. . 

We lost our artillery brethren at Liverpool, 
as they took a different route from us. We 
were soon on our way toward Southampton. 
New sights began to attract us. Tunnel after 
tunnel we passed through which was more or 
less annoying-, as we were all absorbed in see- 
ing the beautiful country. The magnificent 
farm houses which we had seen as Ned's home 



A Short Stay in England 47 

in our First and Second Readers we now be- 
held with our natural eyes. It being early 
summer, the grain-planted hills were green 
and very picturesque. 

England is very thickly populated, and there 
seemed to be a farm house to every five or six 
acres of land. Unlike France and Germany, 
the English farmers usually live on their re- 
spective tracts instead of huddling together in 
small villages. 

The trains in England are much smaller 
than our trains. The small coaches are divided 
into compartments. Each compartment will 
hold about eight men. The seats extend the 
entire width of the car, perpendicular to the 
length. Doors are on each side of each com- 
partment. The accommodations are scarcely 
ahead of our street cars. 

Our toy train made very good time. After 
about a three hours' run out of Liverpool we 
reached Derby, where we were served an 
abundance of coffee. We did not tarry long, 
and we were soon gliding on across the pretty 
country. About dark, which is very late dur- 
ing the summertime in England, we came in 
sight of Southampton, where we saw our first 



48 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

search lights adjusting their illuminations to 
various angles looking for airplanes. We 
reached the station, detrained and hiked about 
three miles to a rest camp. All of us were 
hungry as bears, as we had had nothing to eat 
since breakfast, except some sandwiches and 
the coffee at Derby. 

Tired and hungry we had to wait several 
minutes before we were assigned any tents. 
This was very provoking, as we were so fa- 
tigued we could hardly stand up. We expected 
to have supper served us, but we were sadly 
disappointed. W^e found our tent very dirty. 
It was nearly midnight and all there was to do 
was find a clean spot and go to sleep. The 
British were criticised beyond reason, and had 
we thought that we were going to the front 
only to help the British we would probably 
have deserted and taken chances on getting 
back to the land of flapjack trees and honey 
ponds. 

After a few hours' sleep we awoke and suc- 
ceeded in getting some stewed meat, bread and 
tea. In looking over the camp we soon found 
a Y. M. C. A. canteen and supplemented our 
breakfast with some sandwiches and cocoa. Just 



A Short Stay in England 49 

here allow me to inform you of the Englishman's 
love for tea, or ''tay/' as he calls it. At break- 
fast they have tay; at lunch they have tay; at 
six o'clock tea they have tay; at supper they 
have tay; and I suppose that at any other 
luncheon in the night they have tay. Hov^ever, 
anything that happened after taps is mere con- 
jecture wath me. 

Our rest camp was in a large forest, some 
five hundred years old, which was considered 
rather young in that country. The trees were 
large and beautiful and afforded plenty of 
shade. The citizens thronged the roadside to 
see the new bunch of Sammies and tell us the 
interesting tales of England and the news of 
the great war. Most of them thought that the 
war would be over before snow fell again, 
which greatly encouraged us. Although very 
friendly toward us, it was quite common for 
the Englishmen to complain because we had 
not entered the war sooner. On some of the 
transports this complaint became so chronic 
that a few difficulties resulted. The inquisi- 
tive American usually finds out things, so by 
night all of us had various tales of Europe, etc. 

Tn the afternoon all of us who could, went to 



50 Adventukes of the A. E. F. Soldier 

Southampton. There we got an introduction 
to . European ways and customs, among the 
first being the barber shop, where no real bar- 
ber chairs were used, but ordinary straight 
chairs were used instead. The service was 
rather cheap in cost as well as reality. Eng- 
lishmen measure distance by time. In the bar- 
ber shop I asked how far it was to a certain 
theatre and was told that it w^as about three 
''minutes" up the street to the right. Our visit 
up town was well spent. We saw some good 
shows, learned how to count crowns, florins, 
shillings and pence. One peculiar thing to us 
was the barroom with the lady waitresses, 
where light wines and beers were sold. 

After a good night's rest we spent the next 
day being mustered and getting ready to leave 
again. In the afternoon we marched back 
through the dusty town with the sun shining 
down at about 200 in the shade. Just before 
dark we embarked on the ''Huntscraft," which 
was a small stock boat, and from all appear- 
ance we thought that the majority of Eng- 
land's sheep had been exported the previous 
trip. We did not care to sleep down in the 
''stable," so most of us slept up on deck to 



A Short Stay in England 51 

enjo}^ the cool fresh air, and, believe me, it was 
some cool. 

During the night we stole quietly across the 
English Channel and awoke the next morning 
in the harbor of Havre, France, and in the aft- 
ernoon we debarked from the boat onto French 
soil. 



52 Adventures oe the A. E. F. Soldier 

CHAPTER V. 

SUNNY FRANCE. 

Now, our dreams were realized. We were 
in ''Sunny France"; at least someone has called 
it sunny. We often wondered where it got 
that name, because it rained almost every day. 

La Havre is one of the largest ports of 
France, and is one of the largest cotton ports 
in the world. It bears a striking resemblance 
to New Orleans, Louisiana. The large cotton 
warehouses, wharves, French houses and the 
French people impress one of the resemblance 
which is supplemented by the Seine River cor- 
responding to the Mississippi. The chief con- 
trast is the climate, as La Havre is by no means 
tropical. The signs on the buildings were ex- 
clusively in French, and the admiring throngs 
of people greeted us with "Bon jour," all of 
Avhich made us realize the value of knowing 
the French language, and we resolved that if 
the war lasted another year we would then be 
able to parlez vous Francais. 

From the ship we marched through town 
and out to a rest camp, which we were highly 



Sunny France 53 

pleased to see. We found the camp full of 
British soldiers, canteens and cooties. The bar- 
racks were none too sanitary, biit they were 
so far ahead of the tents we had had at South- 
ampton and the stock boat which we had come 
across the channel on that we made no serious 
complaint. We were agreeably surprised to 
find that the canteens had a good supply of 
smokes, beer and candy. The British had 
charge of the mess halls in the camp, and mov- 
ing organizations who stopped in for a short 
rest were furnished meal tickets. We had al- 
ready had all the tea we wanted, but now we 
got more, as well as plenty of marmalade. 
Taken as a whole, the chow was fairly good, 
and as we had eaten our reserve rations of 
corned beef and hard tack on the ''Huntscraft,'' 
we relished our first meal verv mtich. 

All the bunch were so tired that none of us 
cared to go to town when night came. After 
walking around a bit over the camp, watching 
the English gambling devices and meeting a 
few American friends who had already seen 
service on the front, we retired to our hard 
bunks. The next morning we awoke feeling 
very refreshed in spite of the checker boards 



54 Adventuees oe the A. E. F. Soldier 

across our backs, from sleeping on the rude wire 
bunks. 

We did not tarry long in the rest camp. 
About dark on Tuesday, July 2nd,, we again 
made up our packs, marched to the depot and 
entrained to go — where? We knew not. How- 
ever, we did know that it was nearer the front. 

We had a remarkable trip ahead of us. We 
were not to ride in the toy coaches, as we had 
in England, nor in the large Pullmans, as we 
had in the U. S. A. We were now to become 
acquainted with a new type of car, the ''side 
door" Pullman. In the States we call them box 
cars; however, they were only about half the 
size of our standard box cars. One military 
train usually consisted of about fifty of these 
cars. Each one is labeled "40 hommes^ — 8 che- 
vaux," which indicated that either forty men 
or eight horses was the capacity. The distinc- 
tion made between horses and men depends 
solely on which is desired to be carried. A car 
may be used for horses one day and men the 
next. Under ordinary circumstances men who 
had been accustomed to the luxurious travel 
accommodations of the United States would 
most likely complain seriously of such mode 



Sunny France 55 

of transportation, but this was war time, and 
was one of many instances in which discomfort 
was accepted by us as one of the unavoidable 
circumstances of the war. 

These cars were the subject of much com- 
ment in the A. E. F. After the armistice was 
signed a casual who had just recently joined 
our regiment, and who had evidently just 
landed in France and had not moved very 
much through the war-torn area during the 
threatening days, was complaining about the 
small coaches, hard seats and lack of heat that 
he had had to contend with on his way to our 
organization. I told him that he ought to try 
riding in a box car with thirty-nine other men 
for about forty-eight hours with a good hard 
floor to sleep on. Just then another casual in- 
terrupted, ''Forty men ain't very much; the car 
I rode in had thirty men and four mules." A 
negro in the A. E. F. recently remarked, 
"When dey hab anudder wah I wants to be one 
ob dem dar chevaux." One of his friends in- 
quired why he wanted to be a chevaux, and he 
replied, ''Cause dey don't put but eight of dem 
in one cah." 

With various comments about our new Pull- 



56 Adventures or the A. E. F. Soldiee 

mans, we crawled in. The usual number 
(forty) were loaded in each car, as well as all 
of our equipment and two-days' reserve ra- 
tions, the latter consisting of canned goods, 
hard tack and jam. It was good dark when 
we pulled out. As we had no lights all there 
was to do was to go to bed, or at least lie down 
on the floor and try to sleep. Most of us slept 
in our overcoats and did not unroll our blan- 
kets. We awoke the next morning, and after 
eating our cold breakfast, we became intensely in- 
terested in the beautiful scenery which was on all 
sides of us. We soon pulled into a little sta- 
tion where coffee was served, and after drink- 
ing five or six times as much as one usually 
does in civilian life we felt almost like men. 

The road we were on follows the beautiful 
Seine River. The latter is a gay sight in the 
summertime. A few small boats here and 
there with a few fishermen and a few bathers 
are scattered all along the river. Beautiful 
grain-covered hills were all around us, which 
somewhat resembled England. 

On our way we met several trainloads of 
wounded British on their way to "Blighty." 
Some of the boys remarked that they were 



Sunny Feance 57 

evidently evacuating the front more rapidly 
than v^e could replace them. 

Every fev^ minutes as we rolled along we 
would pull into another small village, which 
was always properly announced by the en- 
gine's sharp whistle. It did not seem like a 
man-sized whistle. Every time I heard it it 
reminded me so much of the old merry-go- 
round at the County Fair or the Old Soldiers' 
Reunion that I had visions of lemonade stands, 
knife racks, doll racks, ice cream cones, Bobo, 
the world's famous gorilla, and a great throng 
of people covered with dust and confetti, and I 
could almost hear the eloquent rhythm flowing 
from the silvery tongue of the orator of the day 
as he analyzed the various planks in the plat- 
form. Some of the boys compared the whistle 
with that of a peanut roaster. One fellow 
said that he was tired of corn willy and that if 
the train would stop long enough he would go 
and buy enough popcorn and peanuts for the 
crowd. 

We were so crowded for space that two of 
the boys came to blows over a much coveted 
corner. A common friend promptly sepa- 
rated them before anv injurv was done to anv- 



58 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

one except himself. The next day the victini 
said that six men slept on the space that the 
two were fighting over. 

At the larger stations, instead of seeing the 
signs, "Entrance'' and "Exit," there appeared 
the corresponding French words, ''Entree" and 
"Sortie." In Buffalo, N. Y., and in England 
we had seen women working in the railroad 
yards cleaning coaches, etc., but now we had 
mademoiselles for brakemen. 

We soon passed through Versailles and got 
a glimpse of the magnificent palace built by 
the Louises at such an enormous expense that 
it finally germinated the French Revolution. 
Versailles is one of the suburbs of Paris, being 
only eighteen kilometers from the heart of the 
great capital city. We came no closer to Paris. 
We soon passed along directly south of the 
French capital, but could see only the Eiffel 
Tower. 

On and on we rolled, occasionally stopping 
to meet another train loaded with wounded 
soldiers from the front. Some of them were 
exclusively hospital trains. Soon we could 
hear the heavy artillery in the distance, and 
our conception of the tremendous thunder on 



Sunny Feance 59 

the Western front was no longer drawn merely 
from the sections of war news in the Ameri- 
can daily papers. During our short stops all 
along many of us pulled some of the long grass 
to improve our beds a bit. We had supper and 
were soon trying to slumber in our elaborate 
beds. We endured another night of it, and at 
sunrise the next morning we were not far from 
our destination. We arrived at Recey-sur- 
Ource about lo a, m. on July 4th. We soon 
detrained, and after standing around in the 
dust a while, we started off among the hills in 
various directions. We celebrated the holiday 
by marching with our packs and eating corned 
beef and hard tack for our lunch on the way. 

''E" and ''D" Companies went to Colmes- 
les-Bas, "F" Company to Chauzey, Train 
Company to Be Neurve and Headquarters and 
''C" Company to Bure les Templiers. The lat- 
ter place was already occupied by ''A" and ''B'' 
Companies who had preceded us some six or 
seven days. Their kitchens were in good work- 
ing order, which we greatly appreciated, as 
we had been living on canned goods for the 
previous two days. 

It was at Bure les Templiers that we learned 



60 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

to parlez Francais a little. At least we man- 
aged to buy milk, wine and such little things 
as villages of that type afforded. We could 
also manage to get the natives to wash our 
clothes for us. 

In La Havre we had gotten fairly well ac- 
quainted with French money; we knew that 
a franc was worth lOO centimes. The na- 
tives called five centimes one ''sous," which is 
roughly equivalent to an American cent. Most 
of the French money was paper, in bills of 
20, 10, 5, 2, I and 1-2 francs. The majority of 
the two latter denominations had been issued 
by the Chambers of Commerce of the different 
"Departments," or states, since the war had 
begun. They were valid only in the locality 
where they were issued. There were a few 
50, 100 and 500 franc bills, but we did not see 
very many of those. Ofttimes the bills became 
badly mutilated, but they were always good so 
long as the number was legible. Among the coins 
5 franc pieces were rare, 2, i and 1-2 franc 
silver pieces being the most common. There 
were nickel coins of 1-4 franc and nickel and 
copper coins of 10 and 5 centimes. We soon 



Sunny France -61 

were counting in francs exclusively and forgot 
what real money looked like. 

We were not long in learning the life of the 
P>ench peasants. The farmers do not live on 
their respective farms as in America, but are 
all congregated in small villages. The houses 
are large and built of stone, which affords good 
and warm protection during the severe win- 
ters. The houses in the smallest villages are 
usually covered with rude slate instead of the 
red tiling that is to be found in all the cities. 
In one building there is room for the family, 
the cattle, rabbits, sheep, chickens, and all are 
huddled together in alarmingly close prox- 
imity. 

The chief draught animals were the oxen 
and the milk cows. Horses were scarce, and 
there were no mules at all. Of course it might 
have been entirely different in normal times 
before the war. 

As France is only about three-fourths the 
size of Texas, it is evident that there are many 
natural resources, and farming is more inten- 
sified than in most parts of the United States. 
Quite a few of those families lived on the mod- 
est produce of a garden. The hills were cov- 



62 Adyextuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

ered with little patches of wheat, oats, barley 
and clover. The entire crop being in small 
strips of one-half acre or less each. The grain 
is threshed by a tread-power machine, which 
is operated by a horse walking, or militarily 
speaking, "marking time," on an inclined roll- 
ing belt which is connected to the cylinder. In 
some instances the threshing is done by small 
hand machines. Most of the grain is cut by the 
common mower. Some of the smallest patches 
are cut with the ordinary scythe. There are 
a few man-sized binders for the larger crops. 

Our locality was some twenty-five miles 
from the Switzerland border, and there were 
many natural forests and many artificial ones. In 
the latter the trees were planted in check-rows, 
which ameliorates the beauty of the groves. 
No one can cut one of those trees without a 
permit from the Government, not even a Sam- 
my. Some of these trees afforded splendid ma- 
terial for various war purposes, and some of 
the old men worked in the forests during the 
long days doing their bit. 

The roads in France are very good and are 
usually beautified by a row of poplar or syca- 
more trees on each side. Distances and direc- 



Sunny Feance 63 

tions are marked at every crossroads, and 
there is also a post every one-tenth of a kilo- 
meter indicating the distance from the initial 
point of that particular route. The roads w^ere 
very dusty in dry weather, which was aggra- 
vated by the heavy A. E. F. traffic. 'We used 
motor sidecars for messenger service, and it 
was no uncommon sight to see the occupants 
so bedimmed with dust that they were not 
recognizable. 

From the hills one can often count eight or 
nine of the little villages. Each has its tall 
church, or e'clise, the steeple penetrating the 
sky. There is also the school (ecole), and the 
Mairie, or mayor's office in each one of the 
villages. 

The water supply comes from the springs in 
the hills whence it is piped to the town, and 
there is always an abundance of good clear 
water flowing from the fountains, which pro- 
voked us very much, because we had orders 
not to drink any water without first chlorinat- 
ing it. The women folk did their washing in 
the reservoirs, the largest of which was usually 
near the school building. They washed by 
hand and in the cold water, and it was remark- 



64 Adventukes of the A. E. F. Soldier 

able how clean they could get our dirty and 
greasy clothes by washing them in that man- 
ner. 

We were in the province of Cote d'Or. 
There was not much wine growing in that vi- 
cinity, but each little town had its cafe where 
Avine was sold in abundance. There was also 
various bric-a-brac in the little stores, and in 
addition to that, itinerant vendors came 
through with a variety of vegetables, fruits 
and nuts. We usually spent a few francs and 
sous with them. 

While in Bure we visited the cemetery and 
were greatly impressed with the pretty bead 
designs which the French make to decorate 
the graves. Arotmd the old court back of the 
church we noticed some old stone coffins, and 
upon inquiry we learned that we were in the 
original home of the Knights Templar. We 
secured a history of that organization, which 
I am taking the liberty to reproduce in the 
next chapter. 



BuRE LEs Templiers 65- 

CHAPTER VI. 

BURE LES TEMPLIERS. 

(Compiled from M. Hout.) 

''Bure'' (i. e., place abounding in water, from 
Latin ''buris," watering place), which has existed 
since the Gallic Era, takes its name from Bure 
les Templiers, since the Templars established 
themselves there in 1120, which was two years 
after the foundation of their order. 

In 1 1 18 several French knights, companions 
of Godfrey de Bouillon, leader of the first cru- 
sades, conceived the plan of associating them- 
selves and consecrating their lives to the service 
of God and the defense of the Holy Places, They 
made their vows and their pledge before the patri- 
arch of the Holy City, and established themselves 
on a place quite near the temple, whence they re- 
ceived the name 'Templars/' They were nine in 
number, and chief among them was Hugh de 
Payons, whom some believe to have been of the 
noble family of the counts of Champagne. 

In 1 1 28 their number was still the same; they 
had not grown; and whether it was that nobody 
had presented himself for admission into the so- 




. ''}\S'^(ki^H 







O 

o 

m 



66 



BuEE LEs Templiees 67 

ciety, or that their order not having been con- 
firmed they refused all applicants. Whatever the 
reason, Hugh de Payons left Jerusalem to return 
West, and the same year he presented himself 
before the council then assembling at Troy under 
the Presidency of Cardinal Matthew, Papal leg- 
ate, for the purpose of soliciting the confirmation 
of his order. He was accompanied by some of 
his other Knights : Roland, Godfrey, Jeffrey, Bis- 
sot, Payons de Montdidier and Archambaut St. 
Amand, with whom he presented himself on the 
part of the Pope who addressed them to the coun- 
cil. The confirmation they requested was given 
them, and St. Bernard, who assisted at the coun- 
cil, was charged with giving the rule. This rule 
was drawn up, however, by one Jean Michel, upon 
whom St. Bernard had placed this duty. At the 
same time they were given the white coat, to 
which, later in 1146, Pope Eugene HI. added the 
red cross to be worn on the mantles. 

Thenceforth was definitely constituted the 
Order of the Templars, an order at once religious 
and military. Each Knight had to take the vows 
of chastity, obedience and poverty. All the broth- 
ers had to assist at the offices of the day and the 
night. The use was permitted them only three 



68 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiek 

days during the week, and they observed two 
lenten seasons, one before Easter and the other 
before Christmas. They were obHged, moreover, 
to pledge themselves to the recovery of the Holy 
Lands through force of arms and its deliverance 
from the infidel yoke. 

They were enjoined to wear their hair short, 
their beard long, and to sleep fully dressed, ready 
to take arms at the first signal. Each Templar 
could have three horses and a squire, but he 
could have no more than three horses. Let us 
add that the head of the order bore the title of 
"Grand Master." Such were the chief points of 
the rule of the Templars. 

An order which was thus united with arms and 
prayer could not fail to gain sympathy and grow 
rapidly. The faith so lively in those days led 
many noblemen to monastic life; but the ardent 
and bellicose humor of the barons of the Middle 
Ages could not always reconcile itself to silence 
and the tranquility of the cloister. They needed 
action, and they were naturally drawn to an order 
which answered so well these needs of the heart 
— to work for the glory of God and to exert them- 
selves upon the field of battle. The Templars 
multiplied rapidly, and well before the end of the 



BuRE LEs Templiers 69 

century which saw their foundation they had 
already grown very numerous and very powerful. 

But we are slow to mention the name of the 
first lord of our country to enroll himself under 
the banner of the Templars, and who gave them 
ground for their first establishment in Burgundy. 
This Lord was Payon of Bure. Payon was one 
of the principal nobles of the Lordship of Grancey 
le Chateau, and Ramald, Lord of Grancey, had 
no richer vassal nor more powerful. 

The village of Bure, with its territory and its 
revenues, was his almost entirely. He himself 
lived in the midst of his serfs, and there is reason 
to believe that his fortress was situated in the 
middle of the village, quite near and to the east 
of the church, dominating and protecting the 
road which passed beneath its walls. Owner of 
a lordship so considerable, Payen could have 
enjoyed the luxuries of life and figured in the 
world with much honor. He could have traversed 
the seas to fight the infidels and still have retained 
his goods and his liberty, but this was not for him. 
The kind of life to which Hugh de Payon and 
his companions had consecrated themselves ap- 
pealed more to the generosity of his heart and the 
ardor of his faith. He resolved to imitate and 




'^.± 



70 



BUEE LES TeMPLIEES 71 

follow them, and he gave to the young order not 
only his person, but his goods. In an affair of 
that nature, however, Payen did not wish to act 
without advice. He revealed his project to the 
other lords, his friends, and above all he consulted 
his superiors, Guillencus of Langres, his bishop, 
and Ramald of Grancey, his suzerain lord. En- 
couraged on all sides, he accomplished his designs 
and yielded up himself, his goods, his town and 
its dependencies. 

The deed was drawn up by Guillencus and all 
precautions usual in such cases were taken to 
assure to the Templars the peaceful possession 
of all the goods that had just been given them. 
These precautions consisted in having the dona- 
tion approved by all those who, by whatever right, 
might trouble the religious order with their 
claims. Payen was the vassal of Ramald for the 
village of Bure; he could not grant it without the 
approval of his liege, but Ramald gave it all the 
more willingly because he had advised it. These 
approbations were made in the presence of a 
crowd of lords, among others, Guy de Chanlency. 
Ebers, Count of Sault, granted his approval, as 
did his wife, his children and his brother, Vitta- 
line, in the presence of the Bishop of Langres, 



72 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

and the Duke of Burgundy, Ebers of Sault, 
sprung of the house of Grancey, could have re- 
served certain rights or some pretension to the 
village of Bure, and it was by reason of such 
that the grant of Pay en was submitted to him 
for approval. 

Before taking the road to Jerusalem, Payen 
solicited from Ramald, his wife and children a 
special authorization upon the subject of one Le- 
comoe, who was the mayor or Alderman of Bure. 
This approbation was given by Ramald at the 
hands of his seneschal Robert. 

The grant was made in the time of Guillencus 
of Langres. Consequently it can be said not to 
have existed prior to 1 128 nor subsequent to 1 136, 
as Guillencus was Bishop during this decade. A 
list of the titles of the priory of Champagne fixed 
it at 1 132. Even if this latter date is inexact it 
is not far from correct. 

Thus came the Templars in possession of Bure 
and its territory. It is not known whether the 
inhabitants mourned Pay ens or not; but if they 
did, they were easily consoled at the sight of their 
new lords whose double profession of religions 
and men-at-arms seemed to give promise of a life 
at once sweet and tranquil. As Knights in fact. 



BuKE LEs Templiers 73 

they were obliged to protect them from incursions 
and attacks without. 

However it may be, it is at Bure that the Tem- 
plars founded one of the first, if not the first, of 
the establishment they had in France, and that 
establishment which bore the title of Preceptory, 
Baillery, or Commander was the cradle from 
which sprang the Order in the provinces of Bur- 
gundy and Champagne. Furthermore, Jeffrey, 
Bishop of Langres, gave them in 1163 the Church 
of Voulains, and also that of Langlay, and later 
provided them with forest and demesnes in 1236 
and 1237. 

One of the dukes of Burgundy, Hugh III., on 
his part in 1171 conceded to them the rights and 
fiefs belonging to him at Voulaines and Langlay. 
What were the names of the first Knights living 
at Bure, the date of their installation, are ques- 
tions that cannot be answered. Nevertheless, it 
is about certain that after the grant and the depar- 
ture of Payen, the Grandmaster Hugh of Payen 
hastened to install two or three of his chevaliers 
as much to govern the lordship and oversee the 
revenues as to rally around him those of the 
young noblemen who might wish to enroll them- 
selves under the banner of the Templars. They 



74 Adventuees op the A. E. F. Soldiee 

were lodged very near and to the east of the 
church, 7ery probably in the fortress of Payen, 
who had, as we have just said, occupied that 
place. 

Later, grown rich and numerous, they were 
forced to add new buildings to their fortress; 
they had to make room for themselves and to 
extend the church itself, which, while remaining 
the parish church of the town, was enclosed 
within the fortifications and regarded as their 
property. Today the Templar has disappeared. 
There remains still, however, numerous evidences 
of its servitude. The arcades of the subterranean 
caves and of the stables which are very well pre- 
served and which the tourists admire with certain 
emotion are proof of the ingenuity of those re- 
ligions. The thickness of the walls, the solidity 
of the woodwork, the loopholes still exist look- 
ing out upon the departmental road, all assured 
them a retreat, and the fact that stone coffins 
have been found in the interior court causes one 
to suppose that their cemetery was placed beside 
the church within the same enclosure. One may 
still see the escutcheon of the order sealed in the 
wall of the square tower. 

In 1181, Eudes, first son of Rainand II., retired 



BuEE LEs Templiers 75 

into the house of Bure, where he assumed the 
habit of the Templars. They were very glad to 
receive a man of such rank who, moreover, did 
not come with empty hands. He was in truth 
the most powerful lord of these parts after the 
Duke of Burgundy and the Count of Champagne. 
Eudes L died in the Bure house in 1197 at a 
well advanced age. After the funeral, which was 
quite pompous, those who had assisted at the cere- 
monies being gathered in the Monastery, the pre- 
ceptor or commander of Bure, who was named 
William Boldes, called for silence. After having 
announced that Eudes had made over the house 
of Bure, numerous alms, of which he had the 
deed and the charter, he asked consent for the 
reading of that charter. Being agreeable to all 
the scroll was placed in the hands of the Abbot 
of St. Benigne, son of the deceased, who read it 
in tlie presence of the Lord of Grancey, principal 
party interested, and a great number of other 
nobles. Eudes, Lord of Grancey, approved the 
contents and moreover promised to take under 
his protection and guardianship all the property 
of the house of Bure without any intent of arro- 
gating to himself, therefore, any of its rights. 
As witnesses thev brought forth Brother Otho, 



76 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

Cure of Bure, Rodolphe of Menesbles, William 
of Montmoyen and some other. 

After the extinction of the congregation of the 
Temple, Bure became a cure of Malta with the 
title of Mother Church, having branches of other 
parishes, Romprey, La Foret, Terrefondree and 
Chatellenct. The Grand Friar of Champagne, 
residing at Voulaines, was feudal Lord of Bure 
and its Commandery. In 1371, Philip the Hardy, 
by letters patent, dated at Rouves, and confirmed 
by King Charles V., granted freedom from priv- 
iliges to the inhabitants who had grown so impov- 
erished, so annihilated, that the majority had left 
the place reduced to three feux (one feux appears 
to have represented five persons). It is believed 
lliat many returned, since, according to Courte- 
pee, Bure had 1000 souls after that emancipation. 

In 1572, Bure belonged to the Knights of St. 
John or Knights Hospitalers, successors to the 
Templars, and it remained this until the French 
Revolution, but sometime prior to 1572, these 
Knights had abandoned Bure to take up their 
residence at Epailly near Montigny-sur-Aube. 
Still Bure continued to bear the title of Com- 
mandery, and instead of having its Commander 



BuEE LEs Templiers 77 

proper it had none other than the Grand Prior 
himself. 

The Grand Prior Michel of Fevres, on the 15th 
of August, 1572, sold to John Corbolin Miller of 
Conclois ''this house and Maner of adventure/' 
which was then in a state of ruin, with its chat- 
tels, fields, and lands dependent upon it; said 
house of adventure was near and contiguous to 
the house of Conclois. 

Toward 1579 the servitude of Mortmain had 
long grown insupportable to the inhabitants. 
They had made several attempts at emancipation 
and had tried to declare themselves burghers and 
subjects of the King, but they had failed, and 
tired of war, they had avowed and recognized 
that they were really in a state of servitude, serfs 
of the Grand Prior. 

Toward the end of the i6th century they were 
contemplating a new attempt, but feeling that 
they could not succeed and being so advised, they 
addressed themselves in 1588 to their Lord, pe- 
titioning him them freedom from Mortmain. 

The Grand Prior received favorably their re- 
quest, desiring to relieve them and wishing also 
to see repeopled the village of Bure, now greatly 
afflicted through contagion and the passing 



78 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

arouses, ''considering in time/' he said, ''that 
servitude and conditions of Mortmain are con- 
trary to hberty, to which men were created by 
God in the beginning of the world," the Grand 
Prior declared granted to the people of Bure 
"that which they demanded/' 



Teaining fou Action" 79 

CHAPTER VII. 

TRAINING FOR ACTION. 

After our arrival in the vicinity of Recey sur 
Ource, we first set to work cleaning out barns, 
vacant houses, etc., for our new homes. This 
was soon accomplished, most of the men getting 
barns or old houses which had been vacant for 
some time. 

The writer with eight others was billeted in 
the upstairs of an old annex to the old historical 
church, which had been built by the aforesaid 
Templars. Our furniture consisted of our per- 
sonal equipment and our bed sacks filled with 
hay. One of our boys who had been a carpenter 
in civilian life found some planks and made him- 
self a real good bedstead, which served for a 
lounge for all of us during the day. Our entree 
and sortie was a ladder on the outside of the 
building. To demonstrate that we were hardened 
well enough to go into the trenches some of us 
would fall down the ladder occasionally, without 
any serious injury. 

Now that we were billeted, the next program 
was the real training schedule at w^hich we put 



80 Adventures of the A. B. F. Soldier 

in from eight to fourteen hours per day. The 
days were much longer than our summer days 
back home because we were so much farther 
north. In July, sunrise was about 5 a. m. and 
sunset about 9 p. m. Likewise the winter nights 
were exceedingly long. 

Reveille was at 5 145, at which was given phys- 
ical exercise for about fifteen minutes. Break- 
fast was at 6 a. m. Then a long day of various 
kinds of training followed. 

Our infantry and Machine Gun regiments were 
near us. Division Headquarters was at Aigne 
le Due. Everything was working, preparing us 
for the trenches. The Engineer program was 
the regular infantry drill, construction of barbed 
wire entanglements, digging trenches and dug- 
outs and extensive reconnaissance and topograph- 
ical work. 

The infantry regiments were specializing on 
their work. Target ranges were erected and the 
bulFs eye received many rounds of ammunition. 
The bayonet drill was given particular attention. 
Anyone passing along observing them rushing 
at each other like mad bulls and growling like 
bears knew that the fatal day for Fritz was not 
far distant. From the number of lacerated abdo- 



Teaining foe Action 81 

mens we later saw among the unfortunate Huns 
it was quite evident that our doughboys knew 
how to handle the bayonet. 

The Medical Corps had physical exercise, 
drilling, classes in Anatomy and first aid and the 
gas mask drill. We also practiced carrying pa- 
tients in the newly constructed trenches which 
was SOME work. 

We were soon issued our gas masks and hel- 
mets, or tin derbies, and overseas caps. It was 
then that we realized more than ever before that 
the Ninetieth Division would probably play an 
important part in the elimination of the Kaiser. 

The iron helmet can be used for more differ- 
ent things than any other article of the soldier's 
equipment. When not in actual combat we 
wore our overseas caps and used our helmets 
for a general junk basket. Ofttimes, espe- 
cially on long hikes when the ground was 
muddy, it made a splendid seat during the 
short fall out periods. At nights it was 
good for a pillow or a candle stand. On 
the front where extra ones could be found by the 
score we often stripped them of their padding and 
used them for wash pans, and even mess kits. 
The helmet is a great protector from the fliying 



82 Adventures oe the A. E. F. Soldiek 

fragments and with the exception of the gas mask 
it was usually our most accessible article of 
equipment on the front. It seemingly has great 
powers of expansion. On long hikes it often 
feels like it is the size of an ordinary bath tub on 
your head, while among the bursting shells when 
you try to hide under it it seems like an ordinary 
thimble. The gas mask too could be used for 
many things, such as a writing desk or a dinner 
table. 

The importance of the gas mask drill was em- 
phasized by our regimental commander and our 
particular regiment gave special attention to that 
mode of defense. It was pointed out that statis- 
tics showed that Engineer Regiments lost more 
heavily from gas than all other causes combined. 
As we realized that it was a question solely of 
our own safety we manifested great interest in 
learning how to use the gas mask. We often 
ran relay races having to put the masks on after 
the signal to start had been given. 

Every feature of combat warfare was thrashed 
out thoroughly and no point of defense was neg- 
lected during our entire six weeks training. 

Our environments were such that our recre- 
ations were rather meagre. A "Y. M. C. A.'' 



, Teaining for Action 83; 

was soon installed at our place and we gathered 
around at noon and after retreat to buy smokes, 
canned fruits, chocolate, etc., or whatever we 
could get and read the New York Herald, Daily 
Mail or Chicago Tribune, one of which was 
usually posted where all could read. 

After supper the wine houses were frequented 
and the boys soon learned to give an order in 
French. "Je veux une verre du vin, s'il vous 
plait." There were very few intoxications. The 
usual good conduct of the American soldier was 
consistently maintained. 

It was during these days of suspense that we 
first began to indulge in army gossip. Any mes- 
senger or truck driver with any news from the 
front encountered quite a "barrage" of interro- 
gations. The gossip would spread up and down 
the chow lines which were real long lines. We 
no longer ate our meals at the mess halls as we 
had done at Camp Travis. 

Ofttimes the evenings would be spent talking 
or trying to talk to the French civilians, which 
consisted mostly of the extremely aged and 
young. All the young men were either on the 
Front or were buried near the Front in a hero's 



84 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

grave, "Somewhere in France." Almost all the 
young girls were filling men's places in the large 
cities. Occasionally we would find a Frenchman 
wounded with an honorable discharge. He would 
give us some interesting tales of the horrible 
front. Often some poor French mother told us 
of how her son had died in ''La guerre." 

Later the "Y'' began to give picture shows. 
A few good lecturers paid us visits and predicted 
great things for us on the front. Later we were 
entertained with some good musical talent. All 
athletics were encouraged. 

On Jtily 14th, Bastile Day, all of our regi- 
ment assemT^led at Headquarters at Bure les 
Templiers to help the citizens celebrate. The 
programme consisted of good music and short 
speeches by the local ma3^or and some of our 
ofhcers. A good baseball game followed. The 
writer missed that affair as I had to go to Col- 
mes les Bas and when my duties were finished 
there I visited some friends of Co. M, 359th 
Infantry, who had just come into Colmes les 
Haut, and heard them tell of their trip to won- 
derful London on July 4th. 

It was during our stay here that the Allies' 
series of victories began. The" Chateau Thierry 



Training for Action 85 

salient was eliminated and everything looked 
encouraging. We all began to order a turkey 
dinner for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We 
soon got orders to move. 



S6 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

^ CHAPTER VIII. 

OFF TO THE FRONT. 

On August 17th, we began to move. As 
usual, various rumors began to spread as to 
w^here we were going. Som^eone said that we 
were going to Italy because an orderly told 
him that a K. P. said that one of the wagoners 
told him that he got it straight. Others said 
that w^e were going to Chateau Thierry. We 
always found out where we were going after 
we reached our destination. 

The French people apparently regretted to 
see us leave. They seemed to have enjoyed 
our companionship and they sympathized with 
us because we were going to that awful front. 
Currants and plums were ripe and flowers in 
full bloom and the French children gave us 
lots of fruit and flowers as we told them "au 
revoir.'' 

Headquarters moved August i8th, which 
was Sunday. We did not have even box cars 
to ride in this time, our conveyance was merely 
good strong legs and hobnail shoes. We left 
Bure les Templiers about sunrise and started 



Off to the Front 87 

down the dusty road toward Recey sur Ource. 
It soon became official news that regardless of 
what our destination would be we would hike 
to Chatillon sur Seine to entrain. 

In the beginning of the day all was well. It 
was cool and all of us were full of pep. We 
would hike fifty minutes and rest ten in each 
hour. Later in the day it began to get warm 
and the boys began to fall out with blistered 
feet. The ambulance soon became a regular 
excursion bus. 

We were only about 9 kilometers from our 
destination when we halted for dinner. We 
had our kitchens with us and we enjoyed some 
good beans, roast, bread and coffee. After 
bathing our feet in a cool stream nearby and 
enjoying a good rest we continued our journey. 

We reached Chatillon just before sundown 
and soon steered out toward a stubble field 
which was our new camp. Here we stretched 
our pup tents out in the open. We enjoyed 
this camping place as it was in such a pretty 
place. The country was mostly prairie, there 
being very little timber except along the Seine. 
This was a great grain country and far more 
beautiful than in the Recey vicinity. 



88 Adventuees oe the A. E. F. Soldiek 

After eating suppler some of us went down 
to the river and took a cold bath. Then we 
went A. W. O. L. to town for a Httle while. 
Mr. Reader, if you are not acquainted with the 
term ^'A. W. O. L." do not think that it is a 
code for anything. It simply stands for ''Ab- 
sent Without Leave." It is one of the most 
common offenses in the army and the viola- 
tions are more numerous than the command- 
ing officer ever knows about. Of course, the 
main crime in violating the numerous articles 
of war is not really the violation, but being 
caught. 

Chatillon was not very large, but since we 
had been billeted in the little peasant village 
we thought it was quite a city. One is easily 
fooled in the size of the French or German 
towns by merely loafing through them, as all 
the residences and stores are together. When 
one had gone through the town he had seen it 
all, not merely the business section as would 
have been the case in our American cities. 

We were not to linger long in the beautiful 
city on the Seine. After enjoying a good 
night's rest on the rocks and stubble we arose 
and ate a good hearty breakfast. Then we 



Off to the rKON"T 89 

rolled our packs again and started out. We 
marched to the station to find that our box 
car special would not be ready until in the 
afternoon. We passed the time off quite well. 
We found a ''Y" hut which served hot choco- 
late, coffee, and had various and sundry fruits 
and candies and cigarettes. Some "acheted" a 
great deal from the French stores and some 
cognac and vin rouge wa^ consumed. 

About 4 p. m. we crawled into our box cars 
and started on our way northeastward. Our 
trip resembled the one from La Havre to Re- 
cey a great deal. Just before night we stopped 
near a large British aviation field and the Tom- 
mies brought us lots of cakes and coffee from 
the nearby canteen. The next morning there 
were various stories of how hard the floor was 
or how the other fellow's hobnails felt in one's 
face. One certain sergeant who theretofore had 
been rather slow to criticize the War Depart- 
ment in any particular, awoke in anger saying 
that his hip had bored a hole in the floor of the 
car and that he wished that a few of the Wash- 
ington 'Svarriors" had to ride in box cars for a 
spell. He said that if such were the case there 



90 Adventures oe the A. E. F. Soldier 

would soon be marked improvement in our 
mode of transportation. 

We passed near the old home of Jeanne 
d'Arc and reached Toul about i p. m. From 
Toul we marched down the dusty road to 
Blenod les Toul which was about ten kilome- 
ters away. We found good billets in Blenod 
and enjoyed some muchly needed rest. The 
gossip varied as to how long we would stay 
there. The majority thought that we would 
only stay two or three days, which proved to 
be correct. We were willing to spend a month 
or more there because we had the best quarters 
we had had since we had left Camp Travis. 
The Second Battalion followed us the next day, 
having entrained at Le Tracey, whence they 
had hiked from Colmes les Bas. 

It now seemed to us that we were really in 
the front lines. The planes were buzzing all 
around us as if we were in a bee hive. The 
roar of cannon was distinctly audible. Lights 
were forbidden after 8 o'clock and all precau- 
tions of safety were observed. 

Our pleasant stay was abruptly ended. 
About dark on the 22nd the Second Battalion 
moved out for the trenches and the next night 



Off to the Front 91 

the First Battalion and Headquarters pursued 
the same course. This time we travelled in 
trucks, which had to be operated without 
lights as the least indication of our where- 
abouts would expose us to the danger of the 
enemy planes above. 

Our first destination was a little village on a 
little prairie hill. It was about four hours ride 
from Blenod and each battalion spent the re- 
mainder of the night and the following day 
there after starting for the front. The little 
valley below was lined with soldiers and we 
had to eat our meals in squads or less to avoid 
detection. All through the night the planes 
played the little tune, ''Where are you?" while 
we tried to sleep. 

Friday night we continued our journey to 
the front. On Saturday morning, August 24th, 
about I a. m.. Headquarters and Train com- 
panies arrived at Bois de Villers, which was to 
be our home for a few days. Next morning 
some private discovered a dignified major 
sleeping peacefully underneath a large tree 
with all of his clothes on and he described the 
scene as being one of the horrors of war. 

In these woods we found some ver}' rude, 



92 Adven"tukes or the A. E. F. Soldier 

floorless French barracks which contamed 
some old bunks, also very rude. With some 
green leaves from the numerous trees and 
some old straw we made some very comfort- 
able beds. The woods were so dense that we 
could hardly see from one barracks to another 
and the trails which served for streets were 
made more conspicuous by a white string. 

Here we began to learn the value of camou- 
flage. Everything was camouflaged. The art of 
making something like it isn't was wonderful. 
Any supplies or tools left out in the open were 
camouflaged with brush. There was a big factory 
in Dijon making nothing but camouflage. Each 
truck and wagon was covered with specially de- 
signed camouflage, which consisted of very flex- 
ible wire strung with brown fuzzy like scraps of 
cloth. The roads had tall camouflaged fences on 
the side next to the enemy's lines, which pre- 
vented the observation balloons from seeing the 
moving traffic. Of course that would not prevent 
the planes from detecting the road, but since the 
actual moving traflic was the chief concern the 
scheme was quite practicable. All the guns, 
tents, dugouts and in fact everything was 
camouflaged to fool the enemy. Snipers wore 



Oef to the Feont 93 

uniforms with twigs of leaves and grass sewed 
on which made such a perfect resemblance to 
Mother Earth that they could hardly be seen. 
Our First Battalion was located at St. Jean, 
doing construction work for the 179th Brigade. 
The Second Battalion was at Jezainville with 
the i8oth Brigade. Not far from our ''Bois" de 
\^illers we found a Salvation Army Hut which 
furnished us plenty of candies, cakes, dough- 
nuts, etc. It seemed preposterous to see real 
American ladies in such a desolate, lonesome 
place and it sometimes took a half dozen 
doughnuts to convince us that they were real. 
Much to our dissatisfaction the hut moved 
within a few days after our arrival, as it was 
attached to an organization that was relieved. 
Our Division Commissary moved into the hut 
and we then had plenty of milk, chocolate, 
sugar, canned fruit and tobacco. We lived at 
ease for a while. 







94 



A Quiet Sector 95 

CHAPTER IX. 

A QUIET SECTOR. 

We found ourselves in a quiet sector; at 
least, it was comparatively quiet so long as we 
elected that it be so. 

In Bois de Villers our view was obstructed 
by the dense thickets. Our first night in 
those woods was interrupted by the dropping 
of some bombs from Fritz's plane, which 
struck an ammunition dump nearby and 
caused considerable excitement and moving 
about. Almost every night Fritz would buzz 
around over us and sometimes kick out his end 
gate. This was our first real excitement and it in- 
terfered with our sleep a wee bit. On one 
occasion some automobile trucks just outside 
the woods exploded and caused great alarm. 

There was not much work to do. We were 
merely waiting for mature time. It was here 
we first began to mingle with the French sol- 
diers. The woods covered the area of some 
200 acres and the dense thicket was filled with 
artillery and Frenchmen. They would tell us 
that the "Boches" were "finis" and that ''la 









■^ ^ife?-ft^^'!^^^-i'. ■■■■'■ 
^ - ..|4- -■■■■ #Mi%#-'" ■; ^-'Mm m$ 



'. *- 



.*?^ 
:-ii^ '^ 






A Quiet Sector 97 

guerre" would be over "tout de suite." Some of 
these weary poilus had been in the war since 
it started. Many had fought at Cantigny with 
the Americans and they spoke very compli- 
mentary of the bravery shown by our boys. 
Along with the information they usually gave 
lis some vin rouge to make things all the mer- 
rier. They were issued this wine the same as 
w^e were issued our chow and their canteens 
were used exclusively for wine instead of 
water. 

Although the majority of these allies of ours 
w^ere apparently happy, many careworn faces 
indicated sad hearts. Almost all had been 
lighting at least one year without having had 
a furlough. Some had been wounded and 
many had brothers and in some instances, 
fathers, who had die on the battlefield. The 
bunch included soldiers from every part of 
France. Many had fought at Verdun when 
the nation had said "They shall not pass" ; 
^ome had fought at the first battle of the 
Marne and at St. Quentin. Many of these 
men had seen their homes torn to fragments 
and bisected by trenches. 

There was one fellow in the bunch who, prior 



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a 

o 
u 

pi 
O 

bO) 
Q 

fH 

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98 



A Quiet Sector 99 

to the war, had been employed by the French gov- 
ernment in the customs service in India. He could 
speak good English and he delighted in telling of 
the various aspects of the war, the battles he 
had experienced and in explaining the values 
of the various long range guns. 

There was a lieutenant and a sergeant who 
proved to be good entertainers with the violin 
and guitar and the strains of the many beautiful 
French waltzes as well as the French National 
Anthem ''Marseillaise" floated out among the 
stillness of the woods almost every night. 

Among the variety of poilus, were the Al- 
gerian negroes who could speak only the 
French language. Some interesting things 
happened when our American negroes en- 
countered them. An Engineer Regiment of 
our negroes was w^orking on the road near us. 
One day one of the blacks from Dixie met one 
of the Algerians and forthw^ith began asking 
various fool questions, but the latter couldn't 
''compree" and he would shake his head and 
mutter something which the American could 
not understand. Losing patience with the Al- 
gerian the black Yank said "What kind of a 




GQ 



100 



A Quiet Sectoe 102 

niggar is yo, anyhow, yo fool you. Yo don't 
even know yoah own language." 

Almost every day we saw the enemy anti- 
aircraft guns trying to bring down our obser- 
vation balloons and they were sometimes suc- 
cessful. Sometimes the enemy planes would 
venture over to assist their guns and sharp 
battles usually followed. One morning a 
Dutch plane came over and set fire to one of 
our ''sausages/' dodged our planes and flew 
back within his own lines safely. One of our 
boys became utterly disgusted with our aerial 
activity, he lost patience and began cussing 
that branch of the service from San Francisco 
both ways, criticizing everyone who had ever had 
anything to do with it. He was so severe that he 
would have been almost subject to a court- 
martial. We threatened to give him a kanga- 
roo trial, but upon his promise to go to the 
Salvation Army Hut and bring us some candy 
and doughnuts we exonerated him. Such was 
the aerial excitement. The writer spent one 
entire afternoon sitting in the edge of the 
beautiful pine grove reading an old magazine, 
looking up between paragraphs to see what 
was going on in the air. Of course, these few 



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.v'lisM 



CD 

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102 



A Quiet Sector 103 

hours were mingled with the thought "I won- 
der how the Old Folks are at Home?" 

One day on the outside of the woods we lo- 
cated a pigeon "barracks." There were about 
one hundred of the carriers ''attached for ra- 
tions and duty." It was guarded and kept by 
two Frenchmen, one of whom was a sergeant. 
One of our boys could speak French quite 
fluently so we asked every question imaginable. 
The Frenchman, seeing that we were inter- 
ested, took great delight in explaining the 
values of the dove of 'Svar." They said that 
some of the birds had flown five hundred kilo- 
meters in one da}^ and that it was impossible 
to get them lost. It was about dinner time, in 
fact we had already eaten, and the birds were 
chattering" among themselves with apparent 
impatience, as much as to say 'T wish chow 
rail would blow" or 'Svhy don't they start the 
line?" They were soon fed and they seem- 
ingly appreciated their bits of grain as well as 
we did our bully beef, hard tack, prunes and 
cofifee. 

The boys of the first and second battalions 
were having more excitement than we were. 
They had been gassed some and they usually 




03 



P? 



A Quiet Sector 105 

slept with their clothes on and their gas masks 
and helmets within easy reach. They were not 
living in dugouts, but they had some located 
for emergency. They would come back to 
headquarters with tales of how the whizz 
bangs would break up their chow lines, etc. 
They usually brought some ugly pieces of 
shrapnel as evidence. We soon had enough 
paper weights to last us to the end of time, at 
least to the end of the war. 

Bois de Villers was now iull of guns of all 
sizes. A small narrow gauge railroad switch 
ran into the woods and some guns were hauled 
in on it so large that one of them would cover 
two flat cars. There were also several ''Treat 
'Em Rough'' tanks. The French would dem- 
onstrate their value to us by running over 
saplings which were ofttimes nine inches in 
diameter, jumping ditches, climbing over the 
stumps, etc. Nothing could stop one of the 
caterpillars. What they couldn't break down 
they could climb over. 

The importance of all these large guns indi- 
cated to us that we were going to start some- 
thing. Our suspicions were corroborated by 
the immense traffic that was going along the 



106 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiek 

roads outside the thicket. Ammunition by the 
ton was going to the front. Trucks, wagons 
and heavy artillery were rumbling over the 
roads day and night. We now began to hear 
authentic gossip that something would take 
place on Thursday, the I2th, and we expected 
to move soon. 

On September nth v/e got orders to move. We 
packed up and bade good-bye to the poilus, 
filled our canteens with ''du vin rouge" and 
started on our way through the mud. We did 
not have far to go, only to Villers en Haye 
where Division Headquarters was located, not 
over three kilometers from the woods where 
we had been. 

We found some old fioorless wooden bar- 
racks. After finding our bunks we went to 
bed wondering when the drive would start. As 
the rain pattered down on the roof and some- 
times through the old war-beaten barracks we 
soon went to sleep to be awakened by the com- 
mencement of one of the greatest battles in the 
history of the world. 



St. Mihiel 107 

CHAPTER X. 

ST. MIHIEL. 

The battle had been carefully planned. The 
lines which had stood intact for over four 
years were going to be broken. It was gener- 
ally understood by all that we were going to 
eliminate the ''hernia/' which extended as far 
down as St. Mihiel, so that the new line would 
run almost due west from Pagny-sur-Mo- 
selle. 

Most of the organizations had orders to 
move as far up as possible the night before the 
Infantry was to go over the top and each was 
supposed to reach its new destination before 
the barrage started at i a. m. on the 12th. Our 
First Battalion moved from St. Jean into the 
vicinity of Mamey, spending a very miserable 
night standing in dugouts with their packs on, 
the water being too deep to permit their lying 
down. Our Second Battalion moved up from 
Jezainville northwestward. The Germans were 
shelling the vicinity of Montauville and sev- 
eral shells hit around the Battalion wagon, 
killing three of the mules and wounding the 




108 



St. Mihiel 109 

Dental lieutenant, who was on the seat with 
the driver. Unable to reach their destination 
the remainder of the night was spent in Mon- 
tauville. 

Our Division covered the lines from Pont-a- 
Mousson to St. Jean. Each organization in 
the front lines was to advance from 5 to lo 
kilometers whenever they started. At five 
o'clock the boys were going over the top. Men 
and boys who one year before had come from 
the cotton fields, stores, offices, etc., entirely 
ignorant of the ways of warfare, were gomg 
to cross ''No Man's Land" and come in per- 
sonal contact with the enemy who was waiting 
for them, gun in hand and bayonet fixed. 

At I a. m. the roaring of cannon awakened 
all who dared sleep. The earth quivered from 
the vibrations of the gigantic guns. The way 
was being cleared for the Infantry's advance. 
By 7:30 at Division Headquarters we had the 
news that our boys were pushing on and in 
some places had already gained their objec- 
tives for the day. About 8:30 a. m. a swarm of 
Boche prisoners were marched in. 

According to military critics, never in the 



w-^ 




o 

EH 



02 

o 
o 

n 



110 



St. Mihiel 111 

history of warfare has a battle been carried 
out so precisely as it was planned. 

On September 12th the roads were a solid mass 
of traffic. Along the Metz Highway our heavy 
artillery batteries, that is the artillery sup- 
porting us, kept the passersby deafened by 
their awful roaring. The roads were strewn 
with the carnage of horses and mules, up- 
turned trucks and ambulances, organizations 
moving forward and German prisoners. The 
well fortified trenches with their barbed wire 
entanglements were not enough to stop our 
doughboys. They swept on and on, destroy- 
ing in 4 hours what the Germans had been 
budding for four years. The little village of 
Fey-en-Haye which was on "No Man's Land'^ 
had eighty-seven houses before the drive. 
When our boys reached it, however, there was 
not a house left standing. Some of the walls 
were left, which our regiment later used for 
road material. 

The bravery shown by our boys at Belleau 
Woods and Chateau Thierry could not excel 
that of divisions which participated in the big 
drive on Metz. The grit and perseverance of 
our boys was wonderful. One corporal came 




irco er C a-C Tmeo 



0,-2 90*11 Div 



112 



St. Mihiel 113 

into our Division Headquarters with a score or 
more of German prisoners. He delivered them 
to the proper authorities and w^as so exhausted 
he lay dowm in an old barn to get some sleep. 
Two of our infirmary boys found him}. He was 
wounded with a machine gun bullet. They im- 
mediately took him to an infirmary and ad- 
ministered treatment and also the injection of 
anti-tetanus serum to prevent lockjaw. He 
spent the night in the Field Hospital at Gris- 
court, only one kilometer away, and the next 
morning he was permitted to return to his 
organization at the front. The next night, 
Saturday, he was brought back to the hospital 
wounded again, but he had a smile on his face 
and said, "I got him all right, here's his pistol" 
as he displayed the Leuger of the dead German. 
Ninety per cent of the wounded who were con- 
scious expressed the desire to go back and finish 
their job. While the surgeons carefully dressed 
them they would smile and say, ''Yes, he shot 
me, but I got him" or ''I want to hurry and get 
patched up so I can go back and get him." The 
writer was reading a patient's identification 
tag and inquiring of his injuries. The wounded 
man said, "Yes, he hurt me pretty badly, but 



NAR DEPARTMENT. 



CORPS OF ENGINEERS, U.S.ARMY 




St. Mihiel 115 

Tm satisfied, I got my receipt for my three 
prisoners/' whereupon he produced the docu- 
ment duly signed by the captain of the M. P.'s. 
These men from every walk of life were fight- 
ing side by side as soldiers, real soldiers, sol- 
diers who won one of the decisive battles of 
the world's greatest war. 

The wounded came through the field hospitals 
with their clothing torn to shreads, spattered 
with blood and mud and with their gas masks at 
the alert position which were ofttimes filled with 
pieces of shrapnel. The latter demonstrated that 
the mask was a good life preserver. Usually the 
wounded had had nothing to eat for the previous 
thirty-six hours or forty-eight hours, but they 
would console themselves and say "It's hell, but 
we whipped them all the way'' or "A few more 
battles like this one and the Kaiser will have 
to give it up. I wish that he had been in front 
of us this morning." 

Many of the boys made heroes of themselves 
by capturing machine gun nests which were as 
thick as flies in those woods. In some in- 
stances the Hun would yell "Kamerad," and 
throw up his hands. As the victor would ap- 
j)roach the treacherous Boche would operate 




>> 

d 
^ 



116 



St. Mihiel lir 

the machine gun with his feet. Our boys soon 
learned these tricks and were very cautious 
about taking prisoners. Many times the op- 
erators proved to be women. The Germans 
specialized on machine guns. They used them 
a great deal more than they did the ordinary 
rifle, as the former are such a great obstruc- 
tion to going over the top. They are placed 
among the barbed wire entanglements near the 
vertex of a triangular open path which the ag- 
gressor will often take to avoid the wire. Thus 
our doughboys were confronted with a ver- 
itable stream of steel as the machine gun 
whizzed and whirred, shooting two hundred 
times per minute. 

By noon on the I2th, everybody around Di- 
vision Headquarters was elated over our 
victory. All the civilians in Villers-en-Haye 
would shout with joy and yell "La guerre finis 
tout de suite" as the Boche prisoners passed by. 
A few refugees from the liberated districts had 
relatives in the little village and they soon 
found a haven of rest there. Imagine their 
supreme joy after having been in absolute 
bondage for four years, working for the Ger- 




118 



St. MmiEL 1U9 

man soldiers, living on scraps and being denied 
the usual freedom of everyday life. 

The interpreters and clerks in the Military 
Police OfBce were about the busiest fellows on 
the top side of the globe, getting the necessary 
dope on the many Heines and Fritzes. The 
majority of the prisoners were apparently 
strong and healthy and wore good clothing; 
however, they m_unched the American white 
bread as if they were glad that they had fallen 
into the hands of a good enemy. Several of 
them were young boys which assured us that 
Germany's man power was fast nearing de- 
pletion. At the end of three days the number 
captured in the entire area exceeded 13,000. 
Many of the prisoners traded their helmets, 
caps, ''Gott mit uns" belts, etc., for American 
tobacco and cigarettes. Souvenir getting be- 
came very popular. A few of the victims of 
Autocracy had marks and pfennigs which 
they gave for cigarettes and candy. The most 
valuable things, such as pistols and field 
glasses, had already been taken by the captors 
who justly deserved them. 

On the afternoon of the 13th as we read the 
headlines in the Paris edition of the New York 




120 



St. Mihiel 131 

Herald we thought of the joy in the dear old 
United States as the folks at home read of 
what their boys had done. We captured vast 
stores of ammunition, food, etc., as well as 
horses, mules, wagons, kitchens, guns and 
cattle. Some of the companies had milk dur- 
ing the remainder of the time we spent on that 
front. Out of the booty our First Battalion 
Medical Detachment was furnished a Dutch 
wagon and a good span of mules, which they 
named ''Can't and "Won't,'' who rendered 
some very faithful servi<:e before peace was at 
last obtained. There was quite a lot of beer 
captured. Our Second Battalion captured a 
lot of beer, sauerkraut, pickles and jam near 
Pont-a-Mousson. 

As soon as the enemy could get out of the 
way of our doughboys and dig in again they 
made some very stubborn counter attacks, 
which were very ably resisted ; however, we 
lost some of our bravest men in holding the 
ground we had captured. 

The chief work of our Engineers was to dig 
trenches, build roads, bridges, etc., and cut 
barbed wire in front of the infantry to make 
the way rriore clear for going over the top, Of 







O 



St. Mihiel 123 

course, most of this was done during the night- 
time, thus escaping the fire from the machine 
guns and snipers, unless detected. Ofttimes 
these night parties would walk over dead com- 
rades along in "No Man's Land" and could 
hear the enemy talking. Technically, the En- 
gineers were not supposed to go over the top 
except in case of emergency. In one of our 
companies some of the men had located an 
ammunition dump. They conceived the plan 
of slipping across the lines and blowing it up. 
Their scheme was suggested to the captain 
who approved it, whereupon a sergeant and 
five other men sneaked quietly over, performed 
the dangerous task, and immediately the ex- 
plosion shook the earth. The men returned 
safel}^ and won the praise of the entire com- 
pany. 

Saturday night, Sept. 14th, was one of the 
most miserable during the drive. Back in the 
hospitals streamed the wounded from every 
organization of the Division that was in the 
front lines. The enemy had launched some 
counter attacks during the day and in addi- 
tion to that had done some desperate work 
with their artillery. In the vicinity of Faye- 




o 



>#^Bi^ 



124 



St. Mihiel 125 

en-Heye some of our engineers were building 
a road to connect with some of our new loca- 
tions. Several of our artillery batteries were 
nearby. The roads were lined with infantry 
and machine gun battalions relieving those in 
the front lines or being relieved. It was a 
clear day and all of this activity could not es- 
cape Fritz's keen eye. The enemy had an ob- 
servation balloon on the job, looking over the 
situation. It was soon learned that not all of 
the enemy's artillery had been captured or 
abandoned. The shells began to hit furiously 
among the great mass of men in the road. Sev- 
eral of the men of the various units were killed 
and wounded. ''E" Company was the most 
unfortunate of our regiment. In fifteen min- 
utes' time eight were killed and fifteen were 
wounded; however, the work went on. The 
road was soon completed and the moving in- 
fantry could go to their new trenches by a much 
shorter route. The building of this road was 
cited by some military engineering critics as 
heing one of the greatest engineering feats 
ever accomplished under direct shell fire. 

The remainder of our time on this front was 
spent in strengthening our lines by local skir- 








1; ^-,.. '--".' '.OA-'Jf ' 





126 



St. Mihiel 127 

mishes and sniper patrols. On one occasion 
some of the infantry were due to take certain 
objectives during the day. They started out 
and soon ran into the barrage from their own 
artillery. A message was sent back to raise 
the barrage as the men were being slaughtered 
like beeves. The artillery captain roughly re- 
plied that he had his objectives already calcu- 
lated and to raise the range would necessitate 
a lot of work and that he would do no such 
thing. The messenger was not to be trifled 
with. He pulled out his gun and promptly 
shot the artillery captain. Papers found on 
the dead officer revealed the fact that he was a 
German spy. 

One day one of our machine gun companies 
had orders to take a certain hill. They were 
met with furious resistance. When the re- 
maining few reached the summit the officer in 
comm^and sent a message back that he had 
captured hill number so and so, but he had no 
men to hold it. . This illustrates the sacrifices 
our Division had to make to gain the glory 
it did. 

All of the pride, insignia, and other distinc- 
tive characteristics of officers were forgotten 




50 

a 

o 
O 



o 



128 



St. Mihiel 12^ 

during these desperate weeks of unimaginable 
horror. In fact the men were not supposed to 
salute the officers on the front because such 
might allow the enemy to locate some impor- 
tant officers. Neither did the officers wear 
their insignia. The first few days after the 
advance a doughboy major was being carried 
through the hospital. The attendant getting 
his pedigree, etc., asked "What rank are you, 
buddie? Private?" The wounded, though 
smiling major, replied, "No, I happen to be 
a major." The latter was chatting cheerfully 
with everyone as he was being dressed and 
when one private finished telling about having 
captured a lot of Dutch beer the major inter- 
rupted with, ''We got some beer, too." The 
private realized that it was his own major 
talking to him. 

On Sunday, the iSth, some of the 360th In- 
fantry advanced about one kilometer up a hill 
without an}^ artillery support. The chief 
losses, however, were gas casualties. 

Quite a number of our men suffered from 
gas. One field hospital handled gas patients 
exclusively. The doctors had specialized in 
that work and 98% of the patients were saved,. 







a; 






m 



be 



*1-^..-. 



->*' 



i«'' ■?*•:, *&''* -t -^ - .J* :*j 



130 



St. MmiEL • 131 

which was considered a remarkable success. 
The ambulance and truck drivers had any- 
thing but a pension on the front. No lights 
were allowed on the cars as such would make 
a good target for the vigilant enemy planes. 
The solid mass of big guns, tanks, ammuni- 
tion wagons, kitchens, moving organizations 
on foot, usually a double line, coming and go- 
ing over the muddy roads, m'ade driving very 
difficult even in the daytime. Imagine all this 
heavy traffic on a pitch dark night, the road 
ofttimes full of shell holes, some big enough 
to swallow a wagon and team, no lights, the 
driver perhaps unacquainted with where the 
road was supposed to be. See him plunging 
ahead into the darkness with a load of ammu- 
nition likely to be exploded by a nearby burst- 
ing shell, or with a load of wounded men, some 
shot through the breast, others through the 
lungs, wheezing and groaning as their broken 
limbs were jostled and bumped with the jolts 
of the ambulance. Many of the patients, per- 
haps, were gassed and would shriek and gasp 
for breath, which was very annoying to the 
driver. Driving under such circumstances is 
evidently anything but a joy ride. It's a mir- 



132 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

acle that no more cars were ditched than actu- 
ally were. 

On September 21st, I was sent up to the Second 
Battalion P. C, which was located in a dugout 
about one mile northwest of Montauville, in 
support of the 3S9th and 360th Infantry which 
were in the vicinity of Vilcey and Norroy. Our 
First Battalion was then located near Fay-en 
Haye in support of the 3S7th and 358th Infan- 
try Regiments. These locations were not 
changed so long as we stayed on the St. Mihiel 
front. 

Some very interesting episodes revealed 
how well some of the men and officers liked to 
stay in their dugouts. A certain lieutenant 
would invariably bore us miserably with fool 
questions whenever he would hear any shells. 
"Is that Fritz's or ours?'' "Little ones or big 
ones?" were the most common of his questions. 
One occasion this lieutenant went with a private 
to one of the neighboring companies. The dis- 
tance was about one kilometer through woods 
which were strewn with our heavy artillery. 
On returning, the officer, in his haste, got off 
the path and started directly toward a large 
camouflaged gun, thinking that it was the 



St. Mihiel 133 

shack occupied by the officers' mess, his guide 
told him that that was some artillery. About 
that time the great gun belched forth its 
mighty burden of destruction as the earth 
shook. The lieutenant "About-faced" and said 
''Ah, that isn't the way home." After rambling 
around in the woods for about thirty minutes 
he at last found his way back to the dugout. 

All of the men did not have dugouts. Many 
of them had to sleep in pup tents. One night 
some shells hit the vicinity of the kitchen 
where some of the men were sleeping. One 
of the men imagined that he was seriously 
wounded, he ran down to the Battalion Aid 
Station, which was in the dugout with the P. 
C, and waked up one of the medical boys yell- 
ing, 'liere, hurry up and dress my wound." 
Rubbing his eyes and getting up from his 
blankets on the floor the attendant asked 
''Where are you wounded?" The man replied, 
''Up here, I think. Can't you see the blood?" 
as he indicated the side of his head. Upon 
close examination no wound could be found, of 
which he was finally convinced. 

Neither tongue nor pen can picture the de- 
scription of "No Man's Land" as we found it. 



f^ 



134 



St. MmiEL 135 

Trees were battered to the ground. There 
were shell holes of all sizes. Trenches ran in 
every direction strewn with hand grenades, etc. 
Old guns, shells — some of which had failed to 
explode — dism'antled machine guns with long 
tapes of unused ammunition, skeletons and 
never-ending masses of barbed wire covered 
the wrecked terrain. Some fellow remarked^ 
'T don't see what we fought so hard over this 
dern mess for." 

After the St. Mihiel salient was wiped out 
the citadels and spires of Metz were plainly 
before our eyes and within easy range of our 
guns. Marshal Foch had assured us that our 
victorious Stars and Stripes would float in Metz 
ere long. Had it not been for what happened 
in Metz one hundred and forty-two years be- 
fore we might not have been fighting side by 
side with the French in the great world war. 
It was there that La Fayette received the news 
of America's Declaration of Independence and 
the consequent revolution. He thereupon re- 
solved to come to our relief and by his faithful 
military assistance he helped to mold the des- 
tiny of young America and thus was con- 



186 Adventuees or the A. E. F. Soldiee 

tracted the debt of which the Texas-Oklahoma 
boys helped to pay their share. 

Just after our great victory, the news was 
flashed that Austria had sued for peace. We 
crowded the ''Y's" for papers. Everything 
was hilarious. Bets were made, pro and con, 
that peace would be signed within a few days 
as the papers would bring in daily reports of 
the great gains by our allies in the north. The 
Kaiser soon made a denial of having promul- 
gated the Austrian peace note, adding that the 
evacuation of St. Mihiel was prearranged, etc., 
and that his glorious armies were winning 
daily victories and w^ould soon conquer. How- 
ever, within six weeks from then the criminal 
monarch was seeking sweet refuge in Holland. 

The boys who had done their part so nobly 
now began to get some muchly needed rest. 
Companies and battalions were relieved for a 
few days at a time and taken back to the de- 
louser to get cleaned up. The delouser was 
well equipped and could bathe forty men in 
fifteen minutes. The water was heated and 
there was plent}^ of soap. The men were al- 
lowed five minutes to undress; five minutes 
tinder the showers and five minutes to dress. 



St. MmiEL 137 

All Were given a thorough cleansing and sep- 
arated from the cooties. New outer garments, 
also, were given to those who needed them, 
which was usually all. These baths were very 
greatly needed. Some of the boys had not 
taken off their clothing for two weeks. They 
had slept, or at least tried to sleep, with their 
shoes on. 

Most of the German dugouts which we now 
occupied contained squads and platoons of trench 
rats, and some of the hungriest fleas one ever saw. 
Cooties were in abundance. Some fellow sug- 
gested that perhaps some of the good old war- 
riors of old had had them, since the Bible refers 
to the "pest that walketh in the darkness." It was 
no uncommon sight to see some fellow reading 
his shirt. He had read about such some months 
before, but now he knew what it meant. The 
parody on ''They go wild, simply wild over me" 
made a big hit with all the doughboys because 
there was never anything more true. It is a uni- 
versal joke now that the boys in the A. E. F. 
understand why Napoleon had his portrait 
made with his hand inside his coat. 

Sleeping with cooties, fleas and rats, with 
our clothes on and in the mud was not all that 



138 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

we boys had to contend with. We had to 
wear our gas masks and helmets all the time 
and sometimes sleep with them on. We were 
forbidden to have any lights after dark. We 
were in danger from artillery shells and aero- 
planes as well as gas. We were constantly 
disturbed by the low flying planes which were 
equipped with machine guns. A woodchuck 
never could learn to clatter as fast as these 
machine guns. Our food consisted of corned 
beef, hard tack, camouflaged pudding and cof- 
fee for several days at a time. This was merely 
the everyday life on the front and the periods 
during which we made our advances were a 
great deal worse, as has already been referred 
to. Think of these conditions if you were not 
in the A. E. F. and ask yourself if we did not 
earn our trip to France and Germany. Did 
you complain because you had to buy a few 
Liberty Bonds or War Saving Stamfps? Did 
you think that you were fighting a hard war 
because you made a few contributions to the 
Y. M. C. A., Red Cross and the other welfare 
organizations which perhaps deprived you of 
a few cigars, shows, ice cream sodas, etc.? 
Wasn't it awful to have to have meatless and 



St. Mihiel 139 

wheatless days? Or did you think that you 
were doing some real soldiering when you 
were doing four or six hours per day drilling 
in the training camps back in the States, hav- 
ing good fair eats and good warm, comfortable 
barracks for your home, with the privilege of 
visiting the nearby city twice each week? 

On September 26th the great Meuse-Argonne 
offensive in which we were to play an important 
part later on, was scheduled to begin. In con- 
nection with the great drive farther west, our 
infantry was to make a slight local advance 
and strengthen its lines. About twenty-five 
engineers from "E" company were detailed 
to cut wire for the infantry ahead. The orders 
being somewhat confused the wire was already 
cut when the engineers arrived so they all went 
over the top together. The enemy's machine 
guns were on the job and we lost heavily. Sev- 
eral of our engineers were wounded and others 
were missing. One of our lieutenants was se- 
verely wounded, losing one of his eyes and al- 
most losing the other one. One of the sergeants 
in ''E" company was awarded the Dis- 
tinguished Service Cross for bravery shown in 
that little skirmish. 



140 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

Souvenir hunting became more popular 
after we had liberated so much territory and 
captured so much booty and prisoners. Pistols, 
flashlights, helmets, bayonets, field glasses, 
etc., were the most common. All the old dug- 
outs along our new positions were ransacked 
from end to end and from top to bottom. In 
some instances boys were killed or wounded 
by stray shells while souvenir hunting. 

Something of interest occurred almost every 
day, which kept gossip in circulation. There 
was a great deal of aerial activity. Sometimes 
sharp battles between planes and sometimes 
enemy planes trying to bring down our obser- 
vation balloons. The anti-aircraft guns shoot- 
ing at the planes or balloons created plenty of 
excitement. The falling fragments from these 
were as dangerous as the machine gun equip- 
ped planes themselves. Reconnaissance planes 
were on the job daily. Whenever any plane 
could be seen someone would give the com- 
mand ''Get under cover,'' because we were 
never certain that it was not an enemy plane 
at first sight, and whether it was equipped 
with bombs, machine guns or observation ap- 
paratus we did not want to be seen. 



St. Mihiel 141 

There was artillery shelling daily, which 
often broke up chow lines, as well as pup tents 
and billets. Those organizations billeted in 
small villages who did not have dugouts suf- 
fered a few casualties from the artillery as well 
as the bombing planes. Many of the rotating 
bands of the enemy's shells were merely plated, 
instead of being of solid copper, which indi- 
cated the scarcity of that material. Also, quite 
a number contained no explosives which were 
termed "duds.'' It was a great consolation 
to see that a shell which had hit near you was 
a dud. One day an ambulance dressing sta- 
tion was being shelled. Several ambulances 
were parked on the outside. One large shell 
hit directly under one of the ambulances while 
the boys dodged and ducked. They were de- 
lighted to find that it was a dud. 

There was a Bohemian in our bunch whose 
English was very broken. He was well liked 
by all the hoys and we had lots of fun teasing 
him about his dialect. He and another boy 
occupied a good deep dugout, formerly occu- 
pied by the Germans. One day about chow 
time a heavy shelling was going on outside 
and they were discussing the advisability of 



142 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

going to their meal. The other boy thought 
that the dugout was better. The Bohemian, 
peeping out of the door, saw a shell hit, which, 
to his great delight, failed to explode. He 
yelled back to his partner, ''Ah, come on out, 
it's a 'spud.' " 

These duds were used extensively by the 
enemy. Of course, they were harmless unless 
the whole shell hit something, but they served 
their purpose to create consternation and de- 
spair as they sang their melancholy song 
through the air. It was economy for the Ger- 
mans to send over a few powerless shells, how- 
ever, the fact was established that one reason 
for so many duds was that several of the allied 
prisoners were working in the munitions 
plants. Some of our men claim to have found 
notes in some of the shells written by Ameri- 
can prisoners at Metz. 

Nothing is more despairing than to be under 
heavy artillery fire. On their way to their vic- 
tims these shells have a sharp, shrill whistle, 
playing every note on both sides of the G clef, ex- 
cept the merry ones. It causes a subconscious, 
melancholic state of feeling of anyone within 
their hearing. They leave nothing but frag- 



St. Mihiel 143 

ments and splinters of whatever they hit, 
whether it be men, horses, wagons, trucks, 
ambulances, kitchens, tents, houses, roads, rail- 
roads, bridges, trees or whatnot. In "No 
Man's Land" I've seen shell holes big enough 
to hold an ordinary wagon and team, and also 
trees twenty inches in diameter cut squarely 
in two. Numerous times company, battalion, 
and even regimental post commands have been 
temporarily established in large shell holes. 
The high explosive shells were termed "G. I." 
cans because their size corresponded to our 
galvanized iron garbage cans. 

There were many deeds of heroism during 
the St. Mihiel drive, often unexpected. In one 
instance there was a private who cared not a 
whit for snappy drill and other military ma- 
neuvers. In fact it was all detestable to him. 
He was very awkward in drilling and was usu- 
ally found with a dirty rifle. He was so un- 
military in handling the rifle that he had been 
placed on K. P. for several weeks preceding the 
big drive. However, he knew more about how 
to kill Huns than his company commander 
thought. When the time came to go over the 
top this private supplied himself with all the 



144- Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

hand grenades he could carry and started out. 
He quietly slipped upon a bunch of Germans, 
threw the grenades among them, killed two 
and caused the others to rush toward him with 
hands raised, yelling "Kamerad." As he marched 
to the P. C. with his five prisoners his captain 
praised him highly and realized that one did not 
have to be perfect in the manual of arms to do 
his bit on the front. 

The maxim "A miss is as good as a mile" 
was very applicable to the miracles which hap- 
pened almost every day. One night a corporal 
and a sergeant were sleeping in a small shell hole 
during a heavy shelling. A large piece of 
shrapnel hit the sergeant, killing him instantly, 
while the corporal was unhurt. 

It was during our last days on the St. Mihiel 
front that the Allies were gaining the great vic- 
tories in the East. The news got better every day. 
Every messenger was bored to death by us, anx- 
ious trench-worn boys, trying to learn what the 
latest dope was. "Has Bulgaria surrendered yet?" 
was the chief question for a few days. We would 
crowd and scramble for a glimpse at the paper 
which was usually posted at the kitchen. Then the 
news would pass down the chow line : "And Tur- 



St. Mihiel 145 

key has surrendered too/' ''Is that so? Where did 
you get that?" one would ask. ''A truck driver 
told me that the colonel's chauffeur told him 
that he was at Division Headquarters and 
heard one of the orderlies say that one of the 
officers said that it was straight stuff." ''That's 
fine. Now if Germany will surrender." Per- 
haps the latter remark was scarcely audible 
down near the end of the line and some fellow 
who only caught part of the words would ask 
"What's that? Did he say that Germany has 
surrendered?" "No, not yet," someone would 
reply, "but a friend of mine said that his lieu- 
tenant said that he didn't think that the Kaiser 
could hold out much longer." This is merely 
an example of how authentic many of the cir- 
culating rumors were. 

In a few days it was well established, offi- 
cially, that Bulgaria had surrendered and that 
Germany had asked for an armistice. The lat- 
ter was generally known among our Division 
on Sunday, October 6th, and all ears were seem- 
ingly listening for Lansing's reply. 

The reply did not come so promptly, which in- 
dicated that the great statesman at Washington 
was giving the proposition very careful consider- 



146 Adventuees oe the A. E. F. Soldiee 

ation. The writer with two companies of engi- 
neers and the 3rd Battalion of the 359th In- 
fantry was at the delousing station at Gris- 
court, near Division Headquarters. The two 
organizations being together, several old 
friends met. The Y canteen and the Division 
Commissary had ample supplies and with the 
good piano at the recreation room a reunion 
was enjoyed. All of this combination with the 
prospect of an early peace caused a general 
good feeling. This was ameliorated by the 
fact that the big Liberty Loan drive which had 
just been launched in the States had gone over 
the top and we knew that the folks back home 
were behind us. 



Belief 147 

CHAPTER XL 

RELIEF. 

Within a few days we received orders that 
we were being reHeved by the Fifth Division. 
All of us who were at the delouser got orders 
to hurr}^ back to our quarters at the front and 
get our junk together in order to move. Sim- 
ultaneously we got the news that the Kaiser's 
proposal for an armistice had been flatly re- 
fused. However, we all went back toward the 
front determined that the time would soon 
come when Germany would surrender. 

We made our way back to the front and 
only remained over night before making our 
departure. We were happy that we were be- 
ing relieved. We had been at the front for 
about seven weeks and we were as cheerful as 
a lot of children on the last day of school as 
we rolled our packs, in spite of the fact that we 
knew that we would have to hike. 

Yes, we had to hike and it was some hike, 
too. My crowd left the vicinity of Montau- 
ville at dark on Wednesday, October 9th, and 
marched all night long, covering about thirty- 



I;;.- 



I J 



i -i 






Interior of Cathedral, Toul, France. 
148 



Relief 149 

five kilometers. About daylight the next morn- 
ing we arrived in a little village called Lucy, 
just west of Toul. We carried light packs, the 
wagons hauling our supplies. It was a cold 
night and several of the teamsters declared 
that they had rather walk than ride. Some of 
the footsmen changed with them occasionally. 
Of three hundred men in our two companies 
not one fell out. The usual Yankee grit and 
endurance was noticeable. I noticed one poor 
fellow with swollen feet who was limping 
along in his sock feet carrying his shoes. He 
went all the way, too. 

It may seem preposterous that anyone could 
sleep on the hard pavement with only one 
blanket, but the writer and another comrade 
actually did, as soon as we reached our desti- 
nation, and got one hour's sleep, such as it was. 

All of our regiment were together at Lucy. 
The First Battalion had not made the entire 
trip from the front in one night as we had, but 
they were tired out just the same. All of the 
Division were in the Toul vicinity and remained 
there until the departure for the Meuse-Ar- 
gonne front. 

We enjoyed a good rest during our short stay 



150 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

at Lucy. At the canteen there were abundant 
provisions and we had plenty of good eats for a 
change. That was a great wine growing coun- 
try and the hills were covered with grapes which 
were now ripe and juicy. The Frenchmen were 
harvesting them and we had no trouble in getting 
all we wanted to eat. At our kitchens we had good 
hot cakes, butter, jam and fresh meat. We also 
got more baths. Quite a few A. W. O. L.'s were 
recorded. Many of us slipped off and went to 
Toul. No passes were being issued but "We 
should worry.'' We had been on the front and 
had suffered many hardships and we thought that 
we ought to be allowed to go wheresoever we 
pleased. The M. P.'s would stop us at the gate, 
but that didn't worry us. It was an easy matter 
to find the long plank which ran up to the top of 
the wall at an incline of about 45 degrees. The 
plank was very slick from previous use, but we 
climbed it without any great difficulty. On the 
inside of town we were unmolested. We found a 
good Y. M. C. A. canteen which was serving 
honest to goodness fried eggs, mince pies, and hot 
chocolate. The only fault we could find with that 
Y was that it should have furnished us a better 
access to town. 



Eelief 151 

During this short rest period the usual army- 
gossip was indulged in extensively. Some said 
that we were going back to Havre to build docks. 
Others said that we would go to Southampton for 
a similar purpose. Others got the news that we 
were going to Flanders, up where they had to 
swim in mud. Many seemed to think that because 
of our good success at St. Mihiel front that our 
part of going over the top was through with. 

Along with the gossip came the news that Ger- 
many had accepted President Wilson's fourteen 
points. It was emphasized by big headlines in 
the Paris Edition of the New York Herald. We 
read the news with more excitement than was 
really manifested when we finally received the 
correct news on November nth. 

On the 1 6th we bade farewell to our billets in 
Lucy and slung on our packs for a move. For- 
tunately, we did not have to hike. We were con- 
veyed in trucks operated by the Indo-Chinese for 
the French Government. These were the first 
creatures we had seen who had no language. 
They merely had a grunt. Just before our de- 
parture, their sergeant, I suppose it was, lined 
them up, presumptively for roll call; after each 
one had grunted they scattered out just as if they 








152 



Eelief 3 53 

had been dismissed. Then they filled their mouths 
full of snufif or something, crawled upon their 
respective trucks and we were soon on our way. 
We passed through Pagny-sur-Meuse, St. Mi- 
hiel, Commercy and within seven kilometers of 
Verdun. We arrived at our destination, that is, 
where they unloaded us, about one hour after 
dark. We were in a little village when we ''de- 
trucked'' and we naturally thought that we would 
be billeted there. We soon found out differently. 
We started off down the road, which was almost 
knee deep in real thin slushy mud, and on and on 
we waded. We passed two other little villages 
and began to wonder if we really had any desti- 
nation. No one seemed to know where we were 
going. We were so tired that we would try to 
fall out to rest, but there was no place to fall. 
Everything was covered with mud. Occasionally 
an overcoat or slicker would fall into the mud 
and as someone picked it up would get the mud 
all over him. Pretty soon the trucks which we 
had unloaded from passed us, going in the same 
direction. This aroused our anger. We could 
not understand why they did not convey us nearer 
our destination. There was a barrage of oaths 
sent out, describing the various faults of France 



154 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

and the French. One fellow said that France 
was the sorriest country in the world and he sup- 
posed that we were really fighting the Germans 
because they had not taken the darned country 
long ago. Another suggested that our debt to 
France was already paid, and that we should go 
back to the ''States'' ''tout de suite." As the 
mud got deeper another said that the guy that 
called France "sunny" was the biggest chump 
in the world and he described him with every 
adjective in the dictionary of profanity. Finally 
we reached a hill, an incline of about twenty-five 
degrees. A few packs were salvaged along the 
roadside. Whether or not the owners reclaimed 
them the next morning Fm unable to say. Some 
threatened to sleep in the rain, but we kept going 
until we found some old barracks and about mid- 
night we lay down to get some muchly needed rest. 
We were now at Camp Sud. The next day was 
spent in cleaning barracks, as usual, and chang- 
ing orders. About dark the Second Battalion 
P. C, with"D" and "F" Companies, got orders 
to move up. With light packs we left the frog 
pond about 8 p. m. and marched back through 
some of the same mud going toward the front. 
As the roar and flash of the large guns became 



Relief 155 

more distinct we realized that we were on the 
right road. We passed through Esnes, Mont- 
zeville and a few more places that had been vil- 
lages, but now consisted of the ruins of the old 
stone buildings. We were now on the old battle 
field which had seen such awful fighting in 191 6 
when Marshal Foch had said, 'They shall not 
pass/' The territory had been only recently 
taken from the enemy. 

About 3 a. m. we reached our destination, which 
was just south of Bethincourt which had been 
in the hands of the Germans only two weeks 
before, but the lines had now been pushed up 
considerably so that even field hospitals were lo- 
cated near us. The ground was covered with 
frost and each of us had only two blankets. We 
were told to find us a place on the shell torn hill 
and get some rest, which we did. It was as cold 
as the very mischief, but we slept some anyhow. 
The next morning I found a German skeleton 
about six feet from my bunk. He had not been 
killed in the recent advance, because he had long 
since decayed. Evidently, he was one of the 200,- 
000 victims of 191 6. His boots were still on the 
skeleton of his feet. 

There was plenty for us to do along the side 




m 



M 






156 



Eeliep 157 

of this desolate hill. There were two field hos- 
pitals there and the roads needed all the repair- 
ing we could do. Along the shell torn roads 
passed platoons, companies, regiments on foot, 
large guns, tanks, ambulances, ammunition wag- 
ons, etc., usually a double column — the relief and 
the relieved. Over the hills the ration wagons 
with double teams reminded one of the typical 
prairie schooner. One of the boys compared 
them to the advertisement of twenty mule team 
borax and there was indeed a striking similarity. 
This was certainly a desolate country. There 
had been a few trees, especially the hedges along 
the roadside, but they had all been mowed to the 
ground. One evening a few of us walked over 
Hill 304, where 200,000 had been killed in 19 16. 
It was a solid mass of destruction. Skeletons were 
in abundance. Trenches half full of gas colored 
water, barbed wire, old rifles, hand grenades, 
shells, machine guns and every other implement 
were strewn out all over the hill. I saw a few 
abandoned cannon, one of which appeared to have 
been torn asunder by an enemy shell. Even near 
the top of the hill were huge shell holes full of gas 
poisoned water with no possible means of drain- 
age. There was not one hundred square feet of 



158 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

earth on the entire hill that had not been riddled 
by shells. A few graves were noticed, marked by 
a rude wooden cross and the deceased's helmet. 
Old knapsacks, packs, belts and various other 
equipment were scattered all over the hills. Com- 
munication wires were in a solid mass of en- 
tanglement. Dugouts connected with the trenches 
were half full of water and the other half was full 
of rats, abandoned equipment, etc. Ingenious en- 
gineering cannot remove the battle scars from the 
hill, but it will forever be an interesting exhibit 
for the sight-seeing tourists who will come from 
America for the next generation to see what is 
left of the Hindenburg line. 

Yes, we were really on the famous Hindenburg 
line. Back in Camp Travis we had learned a 
song, part of which contained the words, "Fll 
hang my pants on the Hindenburg line.^' This 
prediction materialized with us. While we were 
there one of our boys washed his pants and 
hanged them up to dry. A Boche observation 
balloon evidently saw the pants and perhaps they 
had also heard of our threat. A few shells soon 
began falling and within a few minutes all there 
was left of our comrade's pants was one leg. 

Nothing very exciting happened during our 



Eelief 159 

Stay in this desolate place. We spent our spare 
time in improving our pup tents. Most of us 
had stretched our tents over small shell holes, 
which we had trimmed out and dried with a fire. 
We strengthened them with old scraps of sheet 
iron, which we found scattered all over the hill. 
It rained a great deal of the time, but we seldom 
got wet. There was no sign of habitation for 
30 kilometers except American soldiers, conse- 
quently we were quite a distance from the rail- 
head and our rations were rather short. For 
breakfast we would have bully beef, hard tack 
and coffee; for dinner, hard tack, bully beef and 
water and for supper, coffee, corned beef and 
hard tack. 

There was an American cemetery on the oppo- 
site side of the road from us and several times 
each day we could hear taps being blown, indi- 
cating that our comrade had made the supreme 
sacrifice and was being laid to rest. 

The Huns had been on the run so much for the 
previous two weeks that the front lines were a 
considerable distance from our location by Beth- 
incourt. However, the artillery and bombing 
planes bothered us quite a bit, especially the latter. 
Almost every night Fritz came over and kicked 



160 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

his end gate out. One night he came too close to 
be comfortable. His bombs began to fah near us, 
boom, boom, boom, and we could hear him coming 
closer. There was a good emergency dugout in 
the old trenches immediately behind us on the hill 
and many of us deserted our pup tents and took 
refuge in the old dugout, which was damp and 
musty and inhabited by some trench rats that old 
Noah evidently let sneak up the gang plank of 
the Ark. I found a bunk and soon felt that the 
plane wouldn't bother me much, but the rat whom 
I had for a bed mate worried me quite a lot; he 
wouldn't keep still. The Kaiser evidently had 
trained him the usual military period because he 
was of good military physique, full of activity, 
apparently well fed and had the characteristic of 
a soldier in not knowing what bunk to select; 
however, he was not hostile. Perhaps he consid- 
ered himself a prisoner of war. We got along 
fairly well together until about 3 a. m., when, the 
planes being out of hearing, I made my way back 
to my little tent and spent the remainder of the 
night. Some of the boys of another outfit on 
the other side of the hill were not so fortunate as 
we were. Some ivere killed by bombs from the 
planes while seeking safety in the trenches. 



Meuse-Aegonne 161 

CHAPTER XIL 

MEUSE-ARGONNE. 

While the Second BattaHon was located on the 
hill back of Bethincourt, the First Battalion was 
in the vicinity of Malancourt and Headquarters 
was near Cuisy. We had left "E" Company 
near Camp Sud, where they were doing some 
work on aviation hangars. 

On October 22nd, our infantry went into the 
front line trenches and in the afternoon the First 
and Third Battalions of the 357th Infantry took 
Bantheville. Simultaneously, the First Battalion 
of our engineers moved up to Madeleine Farm 
where was experienced some of the hardest part 
of the war. There were no dugouts nor trenches 
to protect them from the shells and bombs. There 
were a few old wooden barracks which would not 
even turn the rain. Our men were scattered 
out all along the valley and hills. The only pro- 
tection was the many little holes which they had 
dug for themselves. The enemy shelled them 
•constantly all the time. "As soon as our "B" 
Company arrived at their advance location the 




162 



Meuse-Argonne 163. 

shells began to burst. The kitchen was broken 
up immediately and several casualties resulted. 

On the 28th the Second Battalion started up 
to the fateful farm. We passed through Cuisy,, 
Nantillois and Septsarges which had only recent- 
ly been taken by our troops. We stopped near 
Cunel about 2 130 p. m., having walked all day. 
Artillery was strewn out all along the valley and 
whether or not the shells were intended for us or 
the artillery we didn't know, but they certainly 
made it hot for us on our arrival. It was indeed 
a warm reception and a very unpleasant one. 
Every fellow had a pick and shovel and was busy 
digging his own grave. One shell hit within 
about twenty yards from me. None of the frag- 
ments hit me, but rocks and gravel from the hole 
it made seemed to play ''Deutschland uber 
Alles'' on my tin derby. Our kitchen which was 
down in the valley about one hundred yards from 
us was raising an awful smoke in the effort of 
preparing a greatly needed meal. This made a 
splendid target for the enemy. Fortunately, 
many of the shells were duds ; had they not been 
this book would necessarily have had a different 
author. 

As soon as we got our holes dug we felt rea- 



NINETIETH DIVISION 

FRONT LINES ^-o SECTOR LIMITS I^^^^s^^a^- 







164 



Meuse-Argonne 165 

sonably safe, although a few of the armistice pro- 
posals were still hitting. About sundown dinner 
and supper was served. To avoid easy detection 
we were not allowed to gang up. We had to get 
our meals and go back to our respective holes to 
eat. After eating the muchly relished meal we lay 
in our holes peacefully smoking our cigarettes 
which we camouflaged under our helmets. It 
was usually when the least tiny light was dan- 
gerous that a fellow wanted to smoke the worst. 
Of course, that's merely human nature and we 
were still human even if we were living like rats. 
After having spent the night safely we got up 
and got a pretty fair breakfast. We were or- 
dered to move to Romagne which was about four 
kilometers northeast. We started out down the 
little valley which was being shelled without in- 
tercession. Aeroplanes were fighting all above 
us. We soon decided that we could not reach 
Romagne, so we went back and made our home 
on the opposite side of the Nantillois-Cunel road 
from where we had slept the night before. Some 
infantry who had been there a few days before 
had some holes already dug so we were soon 
peacefully situated; The shelling did not cease, 
however. A few hit in the midst of our new 





»11\ 



I 



(S 



m 



Meuse-Aegon-n"e 167 

home and killed several mules, but no men. My 
home was about four feet deep, six feet long and 
four feet wide. One end of it was covered. My 
companion was a school teacher from Cedar 
Falls, Iowa, and his extensive knowledge of the 
laws of nature, psychology, geometry and impene- 
trability, together with what I knew of Black- 
stone, Kent, real estate and domestic relations, 
enabled us to appreciate the situation and live 
comfortably. 

The next day my bunkie and I went to 
Romagne with some of the men. Our regiment 
Avas constructing dugouts for Division Head- 
quarters. Fritz evidently did not want the 
famous Texas-Oklahoma Division to be so near 
him as he made repeated protests with his whizz 
bangs and G. I. cans to stop the work, but the 
work went on nevertheless. The shelling was 
fierce and the low flying planes with machine 
guns pestered us quite a bit. As soon as we could 
get one ambulance loaded we would have another 
squad of wounded to dress. The casualties were 
many. Several of the severely wounded died 
afterwards. About night we went on our way 
back to our home in the bushes. We got lost two 
or three times, but finally found our way. About 




(D 



168 



Meuse-Akgonne 169 

the time we arrived a Fritz plane carelessly 
dropped a big bomb in our neighborhood which 
made a hole large enough to hold one of our 
kitchens. 

We were now enduring the hardships of war. 
The entire country was covered with American 
soldiers with no shelter nor protection except the 
little holes which we had dug. All the dugouts 
had been left far behind. We now occupied 
territory that had not been in the Allies' hands 
before during the entire war. All the little vil- 
lages which we had captured had been almost 
mowed to the ground with scarcely a house left 
standing with any degree of stability. The 
nights were very cold as well as part of the day- 
time. It was now the last days of October and 
frost was on the ground every morning. It 
rained almost every day. We were farther away 
from the railhead than ever and our rations were 
very scant. Water was so scarce that one can- 
teen full, which is about one quart, had to last us 
twenty-four hours or more for both drinking 
and washing purposes. We were within easy 
shelling range of the enemy and the swarming 
aeroplanes had no trouble in seeing us scattered 
out in our respective dens which resembled a 



170 Adventuees of the A. E. ¥. Soldier 

town of prairie dogs. We slept with our gas 
masks at the alert and our helmets over our face 
or nearby. My home was about thirty yards 
from a cemetery where about a score of our boys 
were buried. A number of horses and mules 
were also buried nearby. 

After our experience at Romagne we went to 
bed and felt quite comfortably. We did not 
suffer much uneasiness as we felt that our bar- 
rage would soon start and drive the Huns to 
final defeat. 

. Every day there was active artillery shelling 
and aerial activity. One day two of our sergeants 
were going back for rations. They were between 
a crossroads and a string of our batteries of ar- 
tillery. The enemy seemed to be shelling both. 
Shells began to hit between the two objectives 
which made it rather unpleasant. There was a 
kitchen of another organization not far away. 
Nearer and nearer the explosives came to the 
kitchen and as the sergeants saw another hit they 
looked around to see the torn limbs of the cooks 
going up in the air, and the kitchen blown to 
smithereens. What could be more nerve- 
racking? 

One day during an aerial battle some of the 



Meuse-Argonne 171 

boys were interested spectators. They heard the 
clatter of the machine gun, but did not notice 
any damage that it was doing. After the fight 
was over and the planes had flown away one of 
the boys noticed that his gas mask rattled and 
he suggested that his buddie had gotten the 
wrong mask, which is usually the first thing a 
soldier does whenever he finds anything wrong 
with his equipment. His friend insisted that he 
had his own mask. After a close examination 
the man found that his mask was perforated with 
machine gun bullets. 

On the morning of November ist, our barrage 
started. The air was aflame and the earth trem- 
bled and quivered. Those of us in small dugouts 
were troubled by the dirt falling in. The gigan- 
tic guns bellowed incessantly as they sent forth 
our peace notes to the Kaiser. By daylight noth- 
ing could be seen but smoke and nothing could 
be heard but the awful roaring. Before noon 
most of our boys had gained their objectives for 
the day. 

That is a day never to be forgotten by all of 
us of the Ninetieth Division who were able to be 
there. All the large guns were shooting at one 
and two minute intervals. Along with the iS5's 




172 



Meuse-Aegonne 173 

the 75's did their bit. As one fellow said the 
latter were "barking like hound pups." The en- 
tire division advanced as the earth quivered from 
the tremendous vibrations. The engineers were 
working on roads some of which had been torn 
up by our own guns, only a few days previous. 

Part of the Second BattaHon started on the 
way to Bantheville and Ancreville. Heavy shell- 
ing in the vicinity of the former place halted us. 
The immense traffic along the road was inter- 
rupted by the shelling. We halted at a dressing 
station with orders not to proceed further until 
the shelhng ceased or at least slackened. The 
shells were hitting nearer all the time, but we 
were sending over a dozen to one. The enemy, in 
most places, were running too fast. Our more 
remote artillery began to get behind and many 
of the big guns now began to move up for new 
positions. We were putting over a so-called 
creeping barrage. Evidently Fritz was on the 
run. In some instances, however, he was run- 
ning toward us with hands up, yelling "Kam- 
erad," the proof of that fact being the many 
prisoners which were being constantly marched 
by. Gas shells began to hit among us, but with- 
out any very bad effects. One hit among a string 



174 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

of the prisoners and quite a lot of sneezing and 
coughing was indulged in by the Heinies which 
wa.s caused from their own gas. Returning am- 
bulances laden with the wounded proved that 
our doughboys had not gone over the top with- 
out losses. 

We soon had orders to move back about one 
kilometer as we could not reach our objective 
that day. As soon as we moved back we were 
gassed again, which resulted in a few men being 
sent to the hospitals. Night began to fall and we 
had no place to sleep, so we marched back about 
five kilometers to our prairie dog home in the 
bushes. We spent our farewell night in that 
locality. 

November 2nd was marked by further ad- 
vances. We started out and kept going. Some 
of our heavy artillery had moved up and was now 
located above Bantheville. The earth continued 
to shake. The roads were strewn with the car- 
nage of horses and men and splinters of wagons 
and trucks. The holes in the road were repaired 
by us as we made our advance. Just north of 
Bantheville a low flying aeroplane shot into our 
bunch with its machine gun. It soared sneak- 
ingly out from behind the woods and in the man- 



MEUS-fe-AKGONNE 175 

ner of a chicken hawk, dived for its prey. Three 
men were wounded, two of whom afterwards 
died. It was now about noon and we were some 
two kilometers north of Bantheville, where the in- 
fantry had gone over the top that morning. The 
hills were covered with the dead, many of our 
own boys, but more of the enemy. Our First 
Battahon had now located its P. C. at Banthe- 
ville and it immediately sent out salvage and 
burying details over the field. 

In a little valley between Bantheville and 
\^illers-devant-Dun we were working, trying to 
repair the road so that the muchly needed ammu-- 
nition could pass. Our own shells had wrought 
havoc all along there less than forty-eight hours 
previous. A railroad nearby had been shelled 
and the huge steel rails had been bent and broken 
as if they were rotten wooden planks. The road 
was soon repaired to the extent that some more 
artillery crossed the ravine and was immediately 
emplaced on the hill, on the opposite side of the 
stream. Fritz, as usual, knew that a road was 
being repaired, which led to his destruction and 
he sent over several ''peace proposals'' to try to 
stop it; however, they were met with the same 



176 Adventuebs of the A. E. F. Soldieb 

answer as those which had come from Vienna 
and BerHn. 

The Huns had run off and left one of their 
big guns and several shells. Some of the artil- 
lery gunners made an inspection of it and de- 
cided to try it out. They began sending Fritz 
some of his own shells, without cessation. Their 
major was talking to their captain near where the 
engineers were at work: "Captain, have those 
boys who are shooting that Dutch gun any definite 
objective?'' The Captain replied: ''No, sir, but 
they may hit something accidentally. They are 
changing positions after each shot. They said 
that they wanted to give Fritz hell so long as 
his ammunition lasted and I told them to go 
after him." 

About 2 p. m. our dinner was brought to us, 
which was to last us until noon the next day. At 
dark we were told to dig in -and spend the night. 
It was cold and had been raining slowly but stead- 
ily ever since noon. It was so dark that a stack 
of black cats would have looked like the sunset 
from the Golden Gate, but each of us grabbed a 
spade or a pick and began to dig. The ground 
digged rather easily as it was so wet and we soon 
had some good sized loblollies made. Everything 



Meuse-Aegonne 177 

was wet, our overcoats, our blankets and all of 
our equipment. None of us had more than two 
blankets, as the most of our stuff was being 
hauled up on a wagon. We soon crawled in and 
spent a few miserable hours in the midst of sev- 
eral deadly shells from the Gott inspired Huns. 

A part of "¥'' Company who had stayed behind 
in the forenoon winding up affairs in the rear, 
reached us about 9 p. m. In the dark and rain 
they unrolled their blankets on the wet ground 
for a night's rest. About 4 a. m. they got orders 
to roll pack and move back because they were on 
the wrong road. They had orders to proceed 
above Bantheville, but we were merely on a by- 
road, the main road being to our right in the di- 
rection of Ancreville. The boys reluctantly got 
up and rolled their wet blankets as a little pro- 
fanity was dispensed. One of the boys said, 
''Sherman said war was hell. He didn't know 
anything about war. Hell is a rest camp com- 
pared with war." 

The next morning the remainder of us, that 
is our original party, crawled out of our hog 
wallows, rolled our muddy blankets and after 
shivering around awhile waiting for orders we 
started out toward Ancreville via Bantheville. 



WAR DEPARTMtNT. 



:ORPS OF ENGINEERS, U.S.ARMY 




DOMEVRi 

en Haye 
Tremblecoupt 



LEGEND 
Americon Doily Lines of Advance 
Defenses 



rny 



r,d.cote Dn 



Roods 

Canols 

Roilrojds, Stondard Gou'je -Double Troek 

Ru.lroodb Stondcrd Go.'.je S.ngle Track. 



AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES 
3f5^"' REGIMENT ENGINEERS 
90^" DIVISION 

MAP SHOWING PART OK 

THE St: MIHIEL SALIENT 

To Accompany History < '' 315-'' Enqn 
■^ Sculo 1 .00, — ^ 



Meuse-Argonne 17^ 

As we passed along the road the side of which 
was dotted with German holes such as we had 
been living in, we. saw numbers of dead Germans 
on their bunks who apparently had been gassed. 
Some were sitting erect. It was a deathly sight. 
All of the adjoining fields were strewn with the 
dead. We reached Ancreville about lo a. m., 
tired, sleepy and hungry. Six of us had one can 
of corned beef and it tasted like plank steak. 

These were moving days with our Division. 
No sooner would we get our packs unrolled than 
we would get orders to move. The Division P. 
C. moved three times in 'four days during our 
advance. 

While at Ancreville we learned the news that 
Turkey had surrendered and the Bosporus 
Strait was open to the world. The British fleet 
had sailed through the Dardenelles. The news 
came from Corps Headquarters, being small pam- 
phlets dropped by aeroplanes. The pamphlets 
further said, "Strike hard. Make the final blow,'^ 
which was soon done. 

After getting a good dinner and some Y. M. 
C. A. chocolate we felt stimulated enough to 
make another move, which we did after seeing 
a few aerial battles. About 2 p. m. we started 




180 



Meuse-Aegonne 181 

northwestward. We soon passed the part of 
the 359th Infantry which was going up to reheve 
the boys in the front hnes. The road was a mov- 
ing mass of soldiers and the enemy began to shell 
us, but we kept going. About 4 p. m. we reached 
Villers-devant-Dun, which had been evacuated 
by the enemy only twenty-four hours before. The 
majority of the houses were roofless, but they 
were a great deal better shelter than none at all. 
The two streets were knee deep in thin slushy 
mud. 

We were now almost due east from Grand Pre 
and about eighteen kilometers northwest from 
Dun-sur-Meuse. 

It was about six kilometers to the Meuse River 
in the direction of Stenay. Our entire regiment 
was soon in the little village and we all stayed 
there for two whole days without moving. The 
planes buzzed over us quite a bit at nights and 
caused us to put out the lights as usual. Other- 
wise there was not much excitement. 

The roads were crowded and jammed beyond 
reasonable conception. Ammunition, rations, 
heavy guns, and organizations on foot were try- 
ing to move. The latter usually in both directions. 
The Montigny road above Villers was on a hill 





182 



Meuse-Aegon"N"e 183 

side and the endless stream of trucks, wagons, 
ambulances, horses, mules, guns and men made a 
splendid target for the enemy. The military 
police and our engineers had a difficult task keep- 
ing the traffic going. The huge shell holes and 
the deep mud made traveling very dangerous 
and necessarily cautious. Several roads were 
restricted to one way traffic. 

Burying details were organized as the fields 
were strewn with our dead comrades. Our good 
chaplain led this work until every soldier who had 
gone to the world beyond who could be found 
was buried with all the decency that the situation 
aflforded. 

After staying in Villers only two days our 
First Battalion moved ahead to the vicinity of 
Montigny. On Friday morning, Nov. 8th, they 
were shelled heavily. ''A" Company suffered 
about fifteen casualties, some of them being fatal. 
The company withdrew from the village and as 
they turned to see what damage the shells were 
doing they saw many of the billets they had 
vacated blown into fragments. 

A hidden sniper created quite a lot of excite- 
ment one afternoon by throwing three trench 
mortar bombs into the edge of Villers. For- 



184 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

tunately, no one was hit and some of the boys 
located the Dutchman and put him out of his 
misery. 

Our ambulances and trucks now began to run 
with lights at night. The enemy was on the run. 
News came that our doughboys had crossed the 
Meuse in some places and that they were chasing 
the Germans in trucks. This proved to be cor- 
rect dope, too. Victory was in sight. The news 
came that Austria had surrendered. The papers 
gave the details of the terms and showed the new 
battle front on the southern frontier of Germany. 
It was suggested that it would now be an easy 
matter for the Italians to march across Austria 
into Hunland. Germany must withdraw some of 
her troops from the Western Front to keep the 
Wops back. The withdrawal was taking place 
rather hurriedly, but many victims of Hohenzol- 
lern Militarism who had met the American Divi- 
sions had been left on the battle field. The Bel- 
gians, British and French were pushing ahead 
to our north. 

Along with the other joyous tidings came 
the news that the German representatives 
were on their way to meet Marshal Foch to 
discuss the armistice terms. We felt that our 



Meuse-Aegonne 185 

terms inevitably would be accepted because the 
enemy could not possibly gain anything by fight- 
ing longer. The enemy knew that they were 
dealing with civilized countries and that the 
terms, ever so drastic, could not be so disastrous 
as an invading enemy who were entitled and pre- 
pared to exact revenge. The Kaiser had abdi- 
cated and fled and revolutions were breaking out 
all over the German Empire. What other con- 
clusion could we reach except that the end of the 
war was only a matter of days, if not hours ? 

About the 7th, our ''E" Company moved 
nearer the river and located at Halles, They 
were kept quite busy building bridges to enable 
our victorious .troops to cross. They were un- 
comfortably close to the enemy and the 75^5 
rained down on the little village every night. One 
morning a bunch of the boys got up to find that 
the back end of their house had been torn off. 

On Saturday night, November 9th, the Second 
Battalion P. C, with ^'D'^ and "F' Companies, 
had orders to move from Villers-devant-Dun to 
somewhere across the Meuse. About 7:30 p. m. 
we started out in the rain and mud. When the 
companies crossed the river they found the Ste- 
nay-Dun-sur-Meuse road badly torn up so that it 




^; 



»^ 




be 



18G 



Meuse-Argonne 187 

was almost impassable. The infantry and the en- 
gineers were all mixed in together and the former 
had to pass on and take their positions on the 
trenches. Amidst the heavy shelling the road 
was repaired and a bridge constructed across a 
stream in the edge of Mouzay. 

Those of us with the P. C. did not cross the 
river that night. We found a comfortable biUet 
in Sassy sur Meuse. The night was rather cold. 
The next morning we were outside looking at the 
unusually heavy frost and we suddenly noticed a 
company of machine gunners coming down the 
street with their gas masks on. They resembled 
the KIT KLUX XLAN. We wondered if they 
were wearing their masks to prevent their noses 
from getting frost bitten. There was no evi- 
dence of any gas, but we did not care to debate 
the question, so we made a dash for our masks 
and played safety first for a few minutes. We 
soon crossed the river in search of the companies 
which we found with various other units of our 
division scattered all along the big road im- 
mediately south of Mouzay. 

In the meantime ''E'' Company, which was just 
above us on the west bank of the Meuse, under- 
went heavy machine gun fire while constructing 













•4?.- 




'♦:*--^ 



^ 



188 



MEUSE-ARGON:t^E 189 

a foot bridge across the river. With a tenacity 
of a bulldog they kept at work until the bridge 
was completed. Two regiments of infantry then 
passed over to give the enemy another chase. 

When our outposts had cleared Mouzay of 
snipers we moved in and found comfortable 
billets. The Germans had left in such a hurry 
that they did not have time to destroy anything. 
In ihe meantime we had had a combination 
breakfast and dinner, consisting of corn willy and 
bread, which seemed as good as an oyster course 
dinner to us, 

Fritz had managed to set up some more artil- 
lery in spite of his continuous retreat and the last 
night of the war was marked with considerable 
shelling activity in our vicinity. Some of our 
boys were standing at the crossroads at the edge 
of town and suddenly a bursting shell killed one 
instantly and wounded two others. Most of the 
shells were gas, but not the most poisonous kind. 
They made some of us rather sick, but none had 
to go to the hospital. 

The next morning we got up as usual and 
made the chow line, but things were compara- 
tively quiet. We had heard the evening before 
that our infantry was going over the top and 



190 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

it was quite evident that if they had it had been 
without artillery support. Everything was too 
still. Some of the doughboys came back to town 
to fill their canteens and informed us that they 
did not go over that morning, all of which they 
themselves could not understand. They were 
puzzled about it. The night before they were 
ordered to go over, but they had been changed. 

Soon the news began to spread that the armis- 
tice had been signed and that all firing would 
cease at 1 1 a. m. It came from authentic sources 
and no one doubted it. We really thought that it 
was a fact and we watched the last few minutes 
go by with great anxiety. We were not disap- 
pointed. At II a. m. on the nth day of the nth 
month the echoes of the last few scattering shots 
died away in the distance. Everything was still, 
everything was quiet. The most terrible struggle 
in the history of the world was at an end. 



Peace 191 



CHAPTER XIII. 

PEACE. 

The news was received seriously but not 
jubilantly. We were too worn out to make 
any demonstration. Our sick rate had been 
very heavy for the previous two weeks. Our 
food had been scant and we had been sleeping 
in the cold rain and mud. We had been hiking 
in the rain, over shell torn roads with our 
packs on. We had had our comrades shot 
down in our very midst. The jar and flare of 
the big guns had unnerved us. Our music in 
the great drama had been the constant roar 
of artillery, the buzz of the aeroplanes and the 
rattle of machine guns. The drinking water 
which w^e had had to drink was very bad and 
many of the boys were still sick from the ef- 
fects of it. Consequently there was no mani- 
festation of hilarity. One friend would meet 
another and ask him if he knew that the arm- 
istice was signed. ''Yes, I heard it, that's 
good/' he would soberly reply, which was usu- 
ally accompanied with a slight nod of the head. 
We were so ''all in" that the news apparently 



192 Adventures oe the A. E. F. Soldier 

created less excitement than some insignificant 
rumors which had been current back in the 
trenches, such as "We are going back to Recey 
and vicinity for the winter." We had to have 
reflecting time before we could appreciate what 
had happened and what an important factor 
we had been in the happening. 

News came in that many of the Germans 
just over the hill were shouting and dancing 
with jo}^ and that in some instances they were 
drinking coffee and beer with the Sammies 
and telling the latter that they were all ''Kam- 
erads." These were rare exceptions, however, 
because some of our dead comrades were scarcely 
cold and the usual temper of our boys impelled 
them to refuse any invitations on the part of 
the enemy. 

On the afternoon of the nth, details of engi- 
neers were sent into Stenay, which was about 
four kilometers north of Mouzay, to search for 
and clear the town of mines. The Germans 
were not to be trusted even yet. They could 
perhaps kill scores of our men by the setting 
of a trap. A few mines were found and were 
promptly eliminated. A large barracks which 
had been used for a hospital had not been 



Peace ■ 193 

mined, presumptively because they had not 
had time to evacuate the patients and emplant 
the mines before making their hasty retreat. 
This barracks was, therefore, designated as a 
billet for the entire regiment except the infirm- 
ary, officer's quarters and Regimental and Battal- 
ion 'T. C/s" which were in the large dwellings. 
Later in the afternoon, Stenay was reported 
safe and we were ordered to move in. We ar- 
rived there after dark and found good billets 
and feather beds. We were cautioned not to 
touch anything with a wire or string to it as 
the enemy was barely out of town. In one 
place some of the boys found the bodies of 
several Germans and Americans killed in a 
hand to hand fight within less than twenty- 
four hours previous. We had first occupied 
the town three or fours days before and had 
withdrawn because of so many snipers. 

The next few days certainly were days of 
rest and joy. We began to realize .what we 
had done. The New York Herald brought us 
news of the armistice terms. Germany had 
surrendered so many aeroplanes/big guns, bat- 
tle cruisers, machine guns, locomotives and 
various other implements of war and industry 



194 Adventukes of the A. E. F. Soldiek 

that it was not reasonable to think that hos- 
tiHties could be resumed. ''The war is over. 
We have obtained everything that we were 
fighting for" President Wilson was telling the 
people back in the States. We had visions of 
the joyous celebrations back home. We began 
to flood the post-office with letters and also 
sent many telegrams to our friends and rela- 
tives that we were ''O. K.," ''Safe and Sound/' 
"Well and Happy," etc. 

In Stenay we enjoyed comforts that we had 
scarcely known during our army career. AVe 
found feather beds, upholstered furniture, good 
stoves and some fuel, rugs, carpets and musical 
instruments. Of course all of these belonged 
to the Frenchmen who had been forced to 
cibandon their homes, and we were cautioned 
not to take anything, but we were at liberty 
to use them, which was all we cared about. 
There was a good piano about lOO meters from 
where my bunch slept and we had no difficulty 
in carrying it to our home one night while the 
guard was walking the other end of his post. 

Our Artillery Brigade, which had not been 
with us before, had moved up ready to wipe 
Germany off of the map when the armistice 



Peace 195 

was signed, so the entire Division was in our 
vicinity. Boys from different organizations 
would meet their brothers, cousins and friends 
and exchange the history of their ups and 
downs and ins and outs, which had been 
mostly downs and outs. 

Around the old German camps we found 
quite a number of boxes which had come from 
various places in Mexico. This corroborated 
other evidence which our Government had 
g'athered and we were thoroughly convinced 
that Mexico had been shipping supplies to 
Germany during the war. 

About the next thing on the program was 
the installation of bath facilities, etc., in order 
that all the men could have muchly needed 
baths. Many had gone for three or four weeks 
without a bath and had slept with their clothes 
on, shoes and all for a whole week at a time. 
It devolved upon the Medical Detachment to 
inspect every man in the regiment for cooties 
and scabies and make a roster of those thus 
affected. This was some job. The percentage 
was alarmingly high. We discovered that it 
would have been much easier to make a roster 



196 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

of those who were NOT affected and consid- 
erable paper would have been saved. 

All of our stay in Stenay was not rest and 
in addition to cleaning up ourselves there was 
other cleaning to be done. General Pershing 
issued an order that now as the war was over 
we must be military and snap into it, et cetera; 
that we must maintain our military discipline 
because our conduct was the index of America; 
that we had won the greatest war in history 
and were the pride of Uncle Sam and we were 
to be rewarded for the hardships endured and 
bravery manifested by being permitted to 
clean up our guns, bayonets, helmets, gas 
masks, wagons, harness, saddles, trucks, am- 
bulances, caissons, etc., and drill some every 
day, and so forth, or words to that effect. 

''Orders is orders" in the army, therefore 
we began our daily drilling. The weather was 
quite cool and quite a lot of pep was mani- 
fested. We only drilled about three hours 
each day, which was not so terribly terrible, as 
that was practically all we had to do except 
the aforesaid policing up. We really had no 
grounds of complaint. The whizz bangs and 
G. I.'s were not tormenting us any more. Gas 



Peace 197 

had been replaced by frost. The passing traf- 
fic from the front was no longer our ambu- 
lances laden with our wounded comrades but 
consisted of captured or surrendered artillery. 
We had ample time for sleep and rest, there 
being about thirteen hours of darkness; how- 
ever, we were now at liberty to light lamps or 
candles. Our corn willy and salmon had been 
replaced with large juicy steaks. Our beds 
were warm and dry. Our health was soon 
normal again. The delousers had captured 
thousands of the enemy's last allies, the cursed 
cooties., We had actually ridded our uni- 
forms of the mud from "Sunny France" and 
where necessity required, equipped with new 
uniforms out and out. 

No, indeed. We couldn't complain because 
"Black Jack" said drill. We did squads east 
and west with a pomp and dignity, consistent 
with our bravery in the trenches. We "snapped 
it up." If we were going into Germany we 
wanted to show the Kaiser's subjects what a 
bunch of real soldiers really looked like. 

On Saturda}^ Nov. i6th, our Division passed 
in review before Major General Allen who was 
being transferred away from us. Those who 



198 Adven^tuees of the A. E. P. Soldiee 

won the Distinguished Service Cross were dec- 
orated as we stood in the cold wind on the 
muddy prairie. The General's praise for his 
division is shown by the following memoran- 
dum which was sent to every organization : 

"Headquarters Ninetieth Division, 
American Expeditionary Forces, 
France. 

November 21, 1918. 
MEMORANDUM: 

To the Officers and Men of 
the Ninetieth Division: 

Having served with you throughout your 
period of organization, training and fighting 
— from the arrival of the first recruit at Camp 
Travis to the last shot at Stenay and Baalon 
when the armistice became effective — I am 
now constrained by instructions from General 
Headquarters, American Expeditionary 
Forces, to leave you when you are headed to- 
ward Germany as part of the Army of Occupa- 
tion. This separation" has given me so much 
pain that renunciation of the Corps Command 
persisted in my mind. 

Your superb comportment everywhere in 



Peace 199 

France, as well as your unsurpassed battle ex- 
ploits, have won for you a designation in the 
Army of Occupation; your wonderful fighting 
ability and your superior manhood have won 
for you a place in my heart that will remain 
with me for all time. 

The fathers and mothers who have produced 
men such as you, who know not battle strag- 
gling nor retreat under any circumstances, 
must be thrilled when they learn your stories. 
The states to which you and they belong pos- 
sess the prime essentials of prosperity and 
greatness. 

The soul of the Ninetieth Division will re- 
main a sacred inspiration to me wherever I be. 
(Signed) HENRY T. ALLEN, 

Major General." 

. We regretted very much to lose General 
Allen because rumors had been afloat that he 
was a close friend of General Pershing (in fact 
some said that he was a relative) and that the 
Commander in Chief was so well pleased with 
the record of the division, too, that we would 
be one of the first to go home, etc. In losing 
General Allen we were afraid that Pershing 



200 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

would forget all about the Ninetieth Division be- 
ing in the A. E. F. In fact it became a joke, told 
throughout France that ten years after the 
war was over some one asked the C. in C. 
where the lighting Ninetieth was, whereupon 
he exclaimed with the strongest slang expres- 
sion that his conscience would allow that he 
had forgotten to take the boys out of the 
trenches. 

About a week after our arrival in Stenay we 
were alarmed one morning to find the streets 
full of returned allied prisoners. They were 
a horrible sight. Their uniforms were dirty 
and ragged and their faces revealed the hard- 
ships which they had endured. There w' as a 
variety of nationalities among them and thev 
jabbered and parlez voused with manifestations 
of great joy. In spite of the trying ordeals of 
the past months and years they were supremely 
happy. 

The first Sunday we were in Stenay quite a 
few of us attended church. The church was 
very magnificent, as most all the churches are. 
The priest made short talks in both English 
and French, the substance of which was prais- 
ing the Americans for what they had done for 



Peace 201 

France and for humanity. It was not camou- 
flaged with flattery but was very appropriate 
and impressive and all of us who heard it felt 
that our time and trouble had been well spent. 
The French civilians now began to return 
to their homes, many of which the pillaging 
Huns had wrecked and ruined. In Stenay 
none of the houses were destroyed but lots of 
the furniture had been carried off or destroyed. 
Cooking utensils, dishes, etc., were piled pell- 
mell among the clothes, chairs, rags, dirt, etc. 
Houses which had been occupied by German 
soldiers as billets, apparently had not been 
swept for six months. The French families 
would come back hauling their entire earthly 
possessions in a rude wagon or a wheelbarrow, 
or sometimes carrying it all on their backs. In 
their flight they had taken with them just what 
they had had time to collect, consistent with 
safety. Some mothers who had tiny babies 
came back pushing the baby buggies. If there 
were no baby the vehicle would likely be loaded 
with plunder. In spite of the fact that their 
homes were ruined and they had suffered from 
the pangs of hunger, there was a very notice- 
able sign of happiness about their demeanor. 




a 

o 

M 

bo 

a 
"a 



Ph 



202 



Peace 303 

AVhen they would look about to find their 
choice piece of furniture or favorite portrait 
gone, they would console themselves with the 
thought that the awful war was over and their 
homes could be rebuilt and they would smile 
and say "Mais, la guerre est finis." 

One day every civilian you could see around 
the town was shouting with great joy, which 
at that time we could not understand, but 
later learned that it was because President 
Poincare was due to visit them soon. The 
next day the French President arrived as 
scheduled. Old Glory and the tricolors of 
France were very much in evidence and near 
the "Mairie," or city hall, a formation of our 
soldiers stood at "present arms" while the band 
played ''Marseillaise" and ''The Star Spangled 
Banner." The President made a short talk 
in French and after a hearty handshake with 
each civilian he was soon on his way to some 
other liberated town. 

Another interesting thing we found, was the 
elegant home of the Crown Prince. It was 
at the edge of the northwestern part of the 
city. Both the exterior and the interior were 
exceedingly attractive. Beautiful palms and 




Crown Prince's Home, Stenay, Fninee. 
204 



Peace 205 

flowers added to the beauty on the outside. On 
the interior the spacious rooms and chambers 
were exquisitely furnished. The silk curtains, 
the table linen, the upholstered furniture, and 
the chandeliers can scarcely be surpassed in 
either beauty or quality. Some of our officers 
found it much better than dugouts in the 
trenches. The dining room with all the beau- 
tiful dishes and silverware was certainly more 
attractive than our kitchens in the muddy 
trenches. 

We talked to a few Stenay people who knew 
the Crown Prince, and they all seemed to like 
him. A maid who had been a servant in his 
palace said that he was a man of regular habits 
and good manners and that he never dissipated 
any, usually retiring at 9 p. m. She said that 
almost every time the Kaiser would visit 
'Tittle Willie" they would have a bitter quar- 
rel, most of which she could overhear, and 
that "Willie" was trying to convince his father 
of the folly and inexcusable crime of making 
such a war. Although she admired the Crown 
Prince she disliked the Kaiser very much and 
described him as being a man with an iron 
heart if anv heart at all. Her vivid descrip- 



206 Adventuees oe the A. E. F. Soldier 

tions of him corresponded very much to the 
cartoons of the American Press. 

The next thing — several good shows made 
their appearance with some jolly entertain- 
ment. A REAL stage and some real GIRI.S 
was a treat to us. The music was splendid 
and some of the jokes were actually new. We 
were electrified by the new song which the 
singers told us had been approved by General 
Pershing as the official song of the A. E. F., 
the title being "They Didn't Think We'd Do 
It But We Did." 

We next began to speculate as to when we 
would go home. Some advanced the theorv 
that as we were the backbone of the agricul- 
tural industry of the United States, the hungry 
people back home could ill afford to do without 
us and that we would get back in plenty time 
to plant a 1919 crop. Others wondered if 
peace would be signed before spring and 
whether or not we would start home before it 
was signed. The most optimistic ones dreaded 
the cold trip back across the Atlantic in Janu- 
ary or February. Soon the rumors began to 
spread that w^e were going to parade in Paris 
on Thanksgiving Day and later in London 



Peace 207 

and in New York City Christmas Day, et 
cetera, and so on. "Beaucoup'' francs were 
wagered pro and con as to how, when, and 
where we would ever see any of those cities. 

The New York Herald soon brought us the 
news that we had been designated as a part 
of the Army of Occupation and that we would 
go to German}^ "Toot sweet." This was not 
mere gossip. It was corroborated by the 
memo previously sent us by Major General 
Allen. Military officials considered it a 
compliment to be in the Army of Occupation 
as it was evidence of good discipline and a 
splendid record. If the Huns attempted to- 
start anything G. H. Q. wanted a Division 
with a good fighting record to be on the 
ground to show them where to head in AT. 
However, the majority of us cared very little 
for any more compliments and preferred to go 
back to America without having seen Ger- 
many. 

We knew that staying on the Rhine would 
defer our trip homeward considerably and 
that didn't suit its. Some suggested that we 
send personal letters of protest to the C. in C. 
but as "Black Jack" is sometimes careless with 



^08 Adventuees op the A. E. F. Soldiee 

his personal correspondence that idea was 
abandoned. Furthermore, none of us knew 
the General any too well and as this was not 
the first time soldiers had ever received any 
orders to do something that displeased their 
w^hims and fancies, we decided to let the mat- 
ter drop. 

One very impleasant paragraph about our 
trip to Germany was the fact that we would 
have to hike. We had walked all over Eastern 
France and we felt that that w^as enough, but 
as higher authority thought differently we 
rolled up our packs and on Saturday, Nov. 
23rd, we bade good-bye to the town which we 
had liberated in the Eleventh Hour of the 
World War and started out across the barren 
hills which had scarcely been inhabited for four 
years. We were still going eastward and if we 
were going home it was evidently via Russia, 
Siberia, Japan and the Pacific. 



Hiking Into Germany 209 

CHAPTER XIV. 

HIKING INTO GERMANY. 

Leaving Stenay we marched almost due east 
passing south of Montmedy, which was one 
of the chief railroad towns along the Germans' 
main line of communications. About 4 p. m. 
we reached an old aviation barracks, about two 
kilometers west of Marville. Our Second Bat- 
talion halted there while Headquarters and 
the First Battalion went on into town. 

We stayed around Marville six nights and 
five days, doing nothing but wading around in 
the mud and wondering when and where we 
were going. During our short stay our ra- 
tions were very scant. We could not get fresh 
meat nor white bread. Our menu for Thanks- 
giving consisted of corned beef, hard tack, 
prunes and coffee. 

On Thanksgiving Day we had orders to roll 
our packs and move, but owing to the awful 
downpour of rain we could not reach a good 
billeting place before night, consequently the 
orders were changed. The next morning, 
however, we bade good-bye to Marville and 



210 Adventures of the A. B. F. Soldier 

started on again. We passed through Longu- 
yon and reached Pierrepont about dark, where 
we spent the night. We had walked about 30 
kilometers and everyone was tired, neverthe- 
less we must practice the emergency drill. As 
we were going into enemy territory and were 
not sure what kind of reception was awaiting 
us it was necessary that we should always be 
prepared to assemble promptly with rifle and 
bayonet. The drill was very brief. A whistle 
would sound, all would fall out with belts and 
guns and after reporting present all were dis- 
missed. 

We set out again the next day, many with 
sore feet, a few of which fell out by the way- 
side to ride in the ambulance. Some of the 
companies carried lunch but others had their 
kitchens serve hot meals en route. Just before 
noon we climbed up the last hill leading from 
the sparsely timbered hills and valleys to a 
high level prairie which ran all the way to 
Luxemburg except in one among the iron 
fields near Deutsche-Oth it was interrupted 
by a stream and companion valley. We spent 
that night in Deutsche-Oth which is on the 
boundary line of Lorraine and France and not 



Hiking Into Geemany 211 

over four kilometers from either the Luxem- 
burg or Belgian border. The great steel and 
iron works in the vicinity made the city a very 
prosperous one. 

My bunch was billeted in a theater and 
dance hall which was next door to a Gasthaus 
where plenty of beer, wine and schnapps was 
to be had. We had a rather temperate crowd 
and none of us got ''schnapped up/' however, 
quite a lot of the beer and wine disappeared. 
We enjoyed a muchly needed night's rest. 

In Deutsche-Oth we found both the Ger- 
mans who had emigrated there and the na- 
tives of Lorraine, or Lothringen. The latter 
were part French and part German. A good 
many of both sets could speak a little English 
and we lost no time in finding out what we 
could. 

We talked to one woman who was born in 
Rhenish Prussia. She expressed profound 
love for the Vaterland and said that she was 
going back there just as soon as peace was 
settled. Most of the native people, however, 
were very bitter in their denunciation of the 
Kaiser. 

Almost all of those who denounced the 



212 Adventuees oe the A. E. F. Soldiek 

Kaiser admitted that a conversion had been 
brought about by the treatment they had re- 
ceived during the war. Many of them who 
liked Germany better than France before the 
war hate the former and love the latter now. 
They said that during the war the French 
language was suppressed to the extent that it 
was a severe penalty to speak or write a 
French word. All the outgoing mail was censored 
to make sure that no French language w^as 
being used and that the writer had not ex- 
pressed any love or sympathy for the French. 
The people were arrested and imprisoned for 
trivial offenses. Furthermore, they told us 
that there had been great discrimination 
against Alsace-Lorraine troops. They had 
been shoved into the very hottest front lines 
where it meant instant slaughter and their 
food was not nearly so good as that of the reg- 
ular German troops. The civilians, also, had 
been discriminated against in the rationing 
of food. 

The next day, Sunday, Dec. ist, we con- 
tinued our march, passing through the pros- 
perous little city of Esch, the first city on 
Luxemburg soil. There were many large steel 



Hiking Into Geemany .213 

mills there and most of the people were ap- 
parently wealthy and the homes very beautiful. 
We were glad to see American flags in all the 
windows, however, as all the signs were in 
Deutsch we felt that we were really in Germany. 

The Duchy of Luxemburg is a kind of step- 
child of the German Empire, and, of course, 
has been influenced some by the Imperial Gov- 
ernment. The Duchess had made vigorous 
protests against the sending of German troops 
across her little country at the beginning of 
the war, but her wishes were ignored by the 
iron-hearted Kaiser. 

In spite of the fact that we were tired and 
our feet worn almost to the bone we enjoyed 
going through Luxemburg. There was every 
indication of prosperity. The soil on those 
rolling prairies was very fertile and the many 
little villages very beautiful. Of course, all 
of this had been untouched by Allies' guns 
and gases. 

About night we arrived in the outskirts of 
Luxemburg City. We billeted in a village 
suburb called Hesperange. There we found 
some interesting things. There was a boy at 
the house (by the barn in which we stayed) 



214 Adventukes of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

who was in his first year in High School and 
he could speak French, German and English. 
He was quite well informed on most every- 
thing and told us a great deal about Germany 
as well as Luxemburg. On account of Lux- 
emburg's location the people are bilingual, 
speaking both French and German. The local 
money is of the same denominations as the 
French but German money is widely circu- 
lated. 

The next day we were given a rest as we had 
hiked three successive days. Quite a few 
rested by going over the hill about three kilo- 
meters to the "City." It chanced to be the writ- 
er's luck to be on a foot inspection detail and 
as soon as the inspection was over a list had 
to be made of every man whose shoes and feet 
were worn out, which consumed quite a lot of 
time. The rest of the day I spent reading the 
newspapers from the States, a bunch of which 
had just come in, so my trip to the city had 
to be deferred. 

Luxemburg was the largest city our bunch 
had seen since we had left Le Havre, except a 
very few who had seen Dijon and Nancy, 
France. Naturally the boys came back with 



Hiking Into Gekmany 215 

great tales about the size and magnificence of 
the city. Many declared that it was far ahead 
of anything that Texas had. They were mis- 
taken as to size because the business section 
included the residences as has been referred to 
before. The city has a population of about 
20,000. 

Very few of our officers failed to see the city. 
One captain was bawling out one of the men 
for running off to town. He knew that he was 
there because he SAW him. Asked why he 
went to the city the man said that he went 
for the same purpose, presumably, that the 
others did — to see the city. 

On the 3rd we continued our journey east- 
ward. We now began to speculate as to how 
much hiking we were going to have to do. We 
got word that our destination was Coblenz, at 
the mouth of the Moselle River and the most 
authentic dope was that it was 200 kilometers 
away yet, which meant eight days at 25 K's 
per day. That was a fair estimate as we had 
to carry most of our equipment and live on 
rather hard food during the hike. We also had 
to make allowance for a few days of interven- 
ing rest. We began to realize that we would 



'^16 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

have to do some travelling if wt paraded in 
New York City on Christmas Day, which had 
been the latest gossip of the optimists, because 
we could not reach the Rhine before the 13th. 
After careful deliberations of the situation we 
had visions of our Division eating Christmas 
dinner "Somewhere in Germany." 

On the night of the 3rd we billeted in a 
little village, the name of which I am not cer- 
tain, on the bank of the Moselle River, which 
now became ''Die Mosel." The weather was 
rather warm for that season of the year and as 
we occupied the tall buildings overlooking the 
river and enjoyed a good breeze it seemed like 
summer at the seashore. 

On the morning of Wednesday, Dec. 4th, 
with the pride of the true American, our Regi- 
ment marched across the bridge which spans 
Die Mosel, into Rhenish Prussia. Although 
we were tired and sore from the hiking we 
realized that we were fortunate, nevertheless. 
What a "grand and glorious feeling'' to march 
into conquered territory and to know that you 
are a part of the victorious armies of the world 
of worlds. 

During the day we encountered occasional 



Hiking Into Geemany 317 

showers and muddy roads and we were tired 
and hungry when we cHmbed the last hill out 
of the Mosel Valley up to the prairie above. 
Our Headquarters and First Battalion billeted 
in Wasserbillig and the Second went on about 
2 kilometers to the little village of Canaan. 
At these places we rested for three nights and 
two days. 

During this rest we got an introduction to 
German life and customs. We were billeted 
again in a dance hall, adjoining a beer house. 
The people were exceedingly nice to us and 
some of our bunch who could speak German 
conversed with them a great deal. We noted 
that the photographs of the Kaiser and Kais- 
erin hung on the wall in very elaborate frames. 
The people at that particular house liked the 
Kaiser. They agreeably admitted that the 
war was unjustly provoked but they blamed 
Hindenburg, Ludendorf, Von Tirpitz and the 
other war lords and thereby contended that 
the Kaiser was not responsible. The general 
sentiment, toward the Kaiser seemed to be 
quite well divided. Some denounced him bit- 
terly. 

On Dec. 7th, after having enjoyed a good 



218 Adven"tures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

rest we continued our hike. We passed through 
the city of Trier (Treves in French). We 
marched for more than an hour before we got 
through the city. We saw many large and 
beautiful buildings, some of which were real 
old and of great historical importance. Of 
course, we did not appreciate this so much at 
the time but later when many of us visited 
those places on leave it was very interesting. 

As soon as we had crossed the Mosel again 
we halted for dinner and after two more hours 
of hiking we arrived in the village of Ehrang, 
where we rested two nights and one day. For 
billets in Ehrang our immediate crowd again 
drew a ballroom. We had a good stove and 
very beautiful chandeliers. The floor made a 
pretty hard bed but it was far better than 
sleeping in the mud with the whizz bangs 
whistling among us. 

Speaking of beds, we had a variety during 
this victorious hike. We often slept in hay- 
lofts. Some blankets spread down over the hay 
made a splendid bed, however, it was not con- 
venient, in a case of that kind, to have either 
heat or light. Sometimes we could find a 
house with a spare bed in which case we would 



Hiking Into Germany 219. 

billet ourselves and thereby save the billeting 
officer a little trouble. 

After our rest at Ehrang we started out 
again on Monday, the 9th. We spent that 
night in a little village called Dreis. The 
next day we marched through Wittlich and 
halted in the afternoon at Dorf and Neuberg. 
On the evening of the nth we arrived in Alf, 
which is on the river. We had been away 
from the Mosel since our departure from Eh- 
rang. We only stayed in Alf overnight. 

Proceeding from Alf, we passed along by 
the Kaiser Wilhelm's tunnel which is the long- 
est tunnel in Europe. At Eller "F" Company 
halted and remained there three days, doing 
guard duty along the railroad. 

In order to cut off about 18 kilometers ev- 
eryone on foot climbed the mountain at Eller 
and went straightway across the ridge to 
Cochem, while the wagon train followed the 
road around the bend of the river by way of 
Ernst. We knew that we would be isolated 
from our kitchens at noontime so we carried 
our dinners along with us. On the ridge we 
stopped long enough to eat, and enjoy the 
beautiful panoramic view. 



220 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

This ridge did not come to an abrupt crest 
as we had imagined but a vast plateau with fer- 
tile soil and therefore was covered with 
patches of grain. The view from this plateau 
resembles that from the edge of the Llano 
Estacado of Western Texas except in the lat- 
ter case there are no timbered valleys to look 
down upon as there are along the Mosel. 

On the other edge of the plateau we entered 
the magnificent little village of Cochem. We 
were ready for our journey to end there, be- 
cause it was such a beautiful place, being the 
chief health and pleasure resort of Rhineland. 
With its many attractive hotels and bath 
houses it has a striking resemblance to Sul- 
phur, Okla., and Hot Springs, Ark. We only 
stayed there long enough to find out from the 
organization that was stationed there that we 
were about 50 kilometers from Coblenz, which 
we thought was our destination. 

We marched on up the valley — up hill all 
the way, until at last we carne to a village 
called Longkarn. As most of us got billeted 
in good cold barns we had orders to rest there 
for a couple of days. The time was spent in 
doctoring up our feet, taking abbreviated baths 



Hiking Into Germany 221 

and resting up generally. About dark one 
night we suddenly got orders to oil our hel- 
mets. Several of us had stored our helmets 
away with our surplus equipment on the wag- 
ons and there was a great ruffle and shuffle 
getting them together again, but we "got by." 

On Saturday the 14th, after having had 
three nights and two days of rest, we put on 
our packs again and started up the muddy 
road. We traversed some very pretty country 
and lots of it. We did not go the wagon road 
but crossed fields, forests, hills, and valleys. We 
climbed hills so steep that one fellow told later 
that we met a man going to town in a para- 
chute. In one place we saw an open valley 
arena. In fact many thousand people could 
have assembled there and have been within 
easy hearing or seeing distance of a speaker 
or performer. 

About night we arrived in Kelburg, having 
travelled more kilometers than we had any 
day before. We had gone about 33 kms. and 
the wagon road was about 50, so to our great 
discomfort the kitchens had not arrived and 
were not expected before eleven o'clock. We 
were hungry as we had walked all day with 



222 Adventures oe the A. E. F. Soldier 

only a light lunch, but we were so tired and 
sleepy that we did not like to sit up and wait. 
As a solution of the situation a few of us 
bought a lot of raw turnips from the civilians 
and after eating heartily went to sleep. The 
next day was Sunday and was duly observed 
as a day of rest. 

On Monday the i6th we made a short hike 
of about 13 kms. to Dreis (the second town 
we had encountered with that name), Second 
Battalion and Headquarters staying there and 
the First Battalion going to Bruck, only about 
2 kms. away. Dreis was the muddiest place 
we saw in Germany and we v/ere doomed to 
stay there for awhile. We knew not how long. 

We thought perhaps that we were waiting 
for the billeting officers and advance party to 
secure our billets in Coblenz. The routing 
party which preceded us posted signs at every 
crossroads showing the route we were to take. 
All the Division was going the same general 
route; however, different units would take dif- 
ferent roads. 

The next day the Second Battalion P. C. pro- 
ceeded to Dockweiler, only about 2 kms. up the 
hill from Dreis. It was the terminus of the 



Hiking Into GtEEMAny 223 

little railroad which served that community. 
Soon after our arrival at Dockv^eiler we were 
joined by ''F" Company which had come di- 
rectly from Eller. While here we saw our first 
snow in Germany and it was as cold as the 
very mischief. We did not like the high alti- 
tude in December. Those villages had no elec- 
tric lights and we longed to go on to Coblenz 
or back somewhere on the Mosel. 

On Friday, Dec. 20th, we started out again, 
going back, apparently in the same general di- 
rection we had come. Like many other fool 
orders in the army, we could not understand 
it. Some thought that we had been touring 
these villages as a warning to the natives that 
we were a part of the American Army and 
that they must not manifest any intention of 
disorder. Some realh^ thought that we were 
going directly home and would likely entrain 
at Trier as President Wilson was due there in 
a few days and perhaps he wanted to see us. 

After going about 32 kilometers we stopped 
in two little villages, the names of which Lhave 
forgotten, and spent the night. The next day 
we went on, many falling out with sore feet 
from the long tiresome hike of the day before. 



'jf^-r^Y^'f^'^ 




bo 






224 



Hiking Into Geemany 225 

About noon we crossed our original route near 
Wittlich and kept on in the direction of the 
Mosel. 

Thus we had been looping the loop for ten 
days, but when we reached our destination 
and heard the billeting officer say that he had a 
bed for each man in the regiment we conceived 
the idea that perhaps such could not have been 
accomplished without some difficulty and maybe 
it had been necessary for us to circle around 
a bit to find our haven of rest. 

Just before night we came to Maring where 
the Train Company stayed and around the hill 
about two kilometers at Lieser the Second 
Battalion and Headquarters found a happy 
home while the First Battalion crossed the 
ferry to Mulheim. 

Thus ended our victorious march from Ste- 
nay on the Meuse, where our last shot of the 
war was fired, to the heart of Rhineland which 
we were destined to occupy. It was 29 days 
since we had left Stenay. We had spent four- 
teen of them in actual hiking and the other 
fifteen in resting. 

Division Headquarters was located at Bern- 
castel-Cues onlv four kms. from Lieser-Mul- 



226 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

heim and the other units of the division were 
in the surrounding territory. We spent the 
winter there on the beautiful Mosel and this 
book germinated from those many lonesome 
hours. 



Die Mosel und Dee Rhein 227 

CHAPTER XV. 

DIE MOSEL UND DER RHEIN. 

Jt was indeed a beautiful country that the 
Ninetieth Division was called upon to occupy 
while awaiting the result of the peace negotia- 
tions. This picturesque Mosel Valley was the 
tourists' resort of Germany. 

We were in one of the oldest parts of Germany. 
Trier and Coblenz were the chief cities near us. 
Both of these were built by the Romans, Trier 
being the original seat of government, which was 
later moved to Coblenz, the lawmakers, however, 
retaining their homes at Trier. 

The American reader is familiar with Trier, or 
Treves, as being the rendezvous of Marshal 
Foch and the representatives of the so-called Ger- 
man Republic on several occasions to discuss the 
fulfilment of the armistice terms and their ex- 
tension. 

The city is on the Mosel River just below the 
mouth of the Saar, the valley of the latter, with 
its rich coal mines, being the subject of much con- 
troversy at the Peace Conference, The oldest 
building in Trier is Porta Nigra, which is the 



228 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

oldest in the German Empire. There is also an 
old Roman Amphitheater there some fifteen 
hundred years old. 

Trier is the central market for the chief money 
crop of that section — wine. It is also quite a rail- 
road center. In size it ranks with Waco, Texas. 
In fact the cities are alike in several respects. 
The Mosel River corresponds to the Brazos and 
there is a wine festival each year for the purpose 
of promoting the wine industry which stimulates 
wine growing the same as the annual Cotton 
Palace at Waco, Texas, improves the cotton in- 
dustry. 

It is indeed a typical modern city. Our first en- 
trance into the city was only a few days before 
Christmas and there was the usual gaiety among 
the moving mass of people on the streets as is 
manifested by American crowds during the holi 
days. Every man we met was dressed in good 
clothes, including a standing collar, real nice 
overcoat. Most of them carried umbrellas. 
There were very few scars of the war. The aero- 
planes had bombed the city some but without 
very material damage. There was evidently no 
scarcity of paint in this vicinity because all the 
buildings looked clean and neat and well painted. 



Die Mosel und Dee Rheii^ 229 

From outward appearances, one would not real- 
ize that the city had been so near the Western 
Front and that her ''Vaterland" had been de- 
feated in the great world war. 

Coblenz is at the junction of the Mosel and the 
Rhine River, the city lying in the vertex of the 
triangle of which the respective rivers are the 
opposite sides. It resembles Trier in many re- 
spects. The buildings, people, customs, etc., of 
course, are very much the same. 

The city is full of historical monuments. At 
the point of land where the rushing waters of 
the Mosel are unceasingly emptying into the 
Rhine is the Deutsches Eck or Statue of William 
I. It is over lOO feet high from the top to the 
base, the latter being of solid white stone. The 
ideal sought to be exemplified is represented by 
the ruler, clad as a warrior with drawn sword, 
seated on a pov/erful horse. The horse and the 
rider, which taken together are thirty feet high 
from the top of the rider's shield to the horse's 
hoofs, are of solid copper, the value of which was 
1,900,000 marks at the time it was constructed. 
Although the Kaiser ordered many statues 
stripped for their copper, during the war, this 
one of his grandfather was left unmolested. 



230 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

Another thing of great interest at Coblenz is 
the Kaiser's Caslie or Stolzenfels Schloss, which 
means caslle of proud rock. All the boys who 
visited Coblenz, which included the majority of 
the Ninetieth Division, were taken through this 
castle by Y. M. C. A. guides who had previously 
learned all the history pertaining to it and ex- 
plained it in regular order as the crowd went from 
one gorgeous room to another. 

The castle was built in the 12th century and 
remodeled in the 17th century. The large cham- 
bers are filled with various relics and implements 
of war, shrines, winter gardens, etc. There are 
some clocks four centuries old still keeping good 
time. Marble busts and portraits of various ty- 
rants decorated almost every room. All the mag- 
nificence was supplemented by beautiful paint- 
ings and splendid works of sculpture. Kaiser 
Wilhelm II had spent very little time in the castle, 
consequently not many royal personages of the, 
present day had had the honor of sleeping there. 
There had been, however, many visitors from the 
royalty of the world in former days and it seems 
that a record had been kept of each visit. Among 
others, one that I chanced to remember was the 
visit of Queen Victoria in 1846. Some of us 



Die Mosel vi^b Dee Ehein 231 

suggested that a record be made that the Amer- 
ican soldiers of the Army of Occupation visited 
the place in the winter of 191 8-19 19. The castle 
was on a steep hill overlooking the Rhine and was 
310 feet above the level of the river. A long 
winding road led the way up from the road along 
the river and there was a drawbridge at the en- 
trance of the mansion which enabled the occu- 
pants to isolate themselves from the rest of the 
world. 

Another thing worthy of mention is Fort 
Ehrenbreitstein just opposite Coblenz, directly 
across the Rhine from the mouth of the Mosel. 
It is the strongest fort on the Rhine and it would 
have required months of hard fighting to have 
taken it by force. It is fortunate that we marched 
mto the place with victory already won, because 
with its massive walls of protection it could have 
stood a long siege. 

Several towns along the Mosel between Cob- 
lenz and Trier of sufficient importance to deserve 
mention are Rerncastel, Cochem, Wittlich, Lieser. 

Berncastel-Cues where our Division Head- 
quarters was located is a beautiful city of some 
four thousand inhabitants. An old bridge spans 
the Mosel and connects the two cities and thev 







^^ 


> V "/< ' 




%l- 


Y'U^^ 




i^~ 


<^ ' 








M 



m 



Die Mosel und Der Rhein 233 

are often referred to as one. Overlooking the city 
is an old dilapidated castle formerly inhabited 
by Cuis in the fifteenth century. There is a. 
legend that Lord Cuis was very active in matters 
of astronomy during Columbus's days and that 
he was very instrumental in Columbus's adven- 
ture to America. It seems very appropriate that 
the Americans were allotted this area in the Army 
of Occupation. 

Cochem, as has already been referred to, is the 
Iiealth resort of that section of Germany and is 
visited by many tourists, especially during the 
summer. There is also a very pretty castle in 
Cochem where a number of American soldiers 
of another division were billeted. 

Wittlich is some fifteen kilometers from the 
Mosel but is a very thriving little city. It is on 
the main line railroad from Trier to Coblenz. 
The first thing to attract one's attention on enter- 
ing tlie city is a large white building which was 
a German 'Tvrankenhaus," or hospital. The 
prairie country surrounds and extends to the 
north of Wittlich and quite a lot of grain, turnips, 
and potatoes are raised in the vicinity, the city 
being the chief market center. The headquarters 



234 Adventures 'of the A. E. F. Soldier 

of th6 Seventh Army Corps was located at 
Wittlich. 

Lieser is perhaps of no more importance than 
several other villages along the Mosel but I men- 
tion it because of my peculiar famiHarity with it, 
it being my home for some five months. It is at 
the junction of the Lieserbach and Die Mosel and 
is on the branch line of the railroad which runs 
from Wengorohr to Berncastel-Cues. The chief 
thing of importance is the castle of Von Schor- 
lemer, Minister of Agriculture of Germany and 
a member of the Reichstag. During our sojourn 
there the comforts of that palatial home were 
enjoyed by our officers and the men connected 
with the officers' mess. The Kaiser had been a 
frequent visitor in the home and it was a great 
satisfaction to our officers to be in charge of the 
management and instruct the many maids and 
butler in regard to their duties. 

Neither tongue nor pen can properly describe 
the beautiful country along "Die Mosel/' as has 
been alluded to before. The scenery which thou- 
sands of people spend goodly sums of money each 
year to see and enjoy, we tired of and seemingly 
did not appreciate as we were so anxious to get 
back home and begin civil life again. 



Die Mosel und Der Ehein 235 

The chief crop in our immediate sector was 
wine. The vineyard crowned hills overlooked 
the swift clear waters of the river along all the 
latter's meanderings. Every foot of space was 
utilized. Hills which American farmers would 
condemn as worthless were used for wine grow- 
ing. Some of the vineyards are on an incline of 
45 degrees. That may seem absurd but ask any 
doughboy of the Texas-Oklahoma Division. The 
incline ranged from 5 to 45 degrees. Every few 
feet there is a layer of rock, terracing the land 
above. Big, little, old and young work in the 
vineyards and there is no distinction made with 
regard to sex. The laborers carry fertilizer to 
these vineyards by means of baskets which are 
strapped to their backs. In the winter time dur- 
ing the most inclement days the time is utilized 
in making strings or bands from small willow 
branches. These are used to train the vines 
about the poles to the best advantage. Later on 
the vines are trimmed or pruned and then tied 
and trained. The work is usually finished by the 
middle of August and harvesting begins in the 
latter part of September. 

The small German villages resemble those in 
France very much but were different in some 




o 



236 



Die Mosel und Dee Rhein 237 

respects. As in France all the people live in vil- 
lages and the house, barn, chicken house, etc., are 
under one roof. With these common people the 
parlor was usually considerably abbreviated and 
we often remarked that their stable was about 
the same distance from the dining room as the 
American parlors are, however, the walls were of 
solid stone which made a vast difference ^nd 
although the cow was where our piano would be 
we were not bothered by her moo nor otherwise. 
In fact we scarcely knew that such an animal was 
on the place until we would see the family eating 
the white butter or hear the cream separator buz- 
zing, which was quite common. 

Most of the houses are more than two centuries 
old. At two different places where I stayed the 
house was built in the 17th century. None of 
them were less than two stories high and v/ere 
usually three or four. The attic is used for fuel, 
hay, and general plunder. The former two are 
usually carried up by means of a pulley and rope 
on the outside. 

Under each house is a wine cellar. A family 
of average size usually had from 18 to 24 large 
barrels, each of which held about 1000 litres or 
225 gallons. This was the money crop. The 



238 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

price of wine more than doubled from 1916 to 
1 91 8 though that was not in proportion to the 
prices of necessities. Wine that had been kept 
over two years sold for as high as 10 marks 
per litre and the average family raised 5000 Utres. 
Since one mark in normal times is worth an 
American quarter (and the Germans still value 
accordingly) this 50,000 marks is seemingly a 
young fortune for one year's crop, however, as 
living necessities are tenfold higher than in 
America, it is comparatively small for one family 
which in Germany consists of more than merely 
a husband and wife and poodle dog, pet monkey, 
or Maltese cat. 

The chief domestic animal in Rhineland is the 
cow. In addition to furnishing the milk and 
butter for the family the cow is the chief draught 
animal. Mules are not to be found and horses 
are scarce. Most of the steers were used for meat 
during the war and the milch cows are rather 
poor yet as they were denied their required for- 
age which was fed to the horses and mules in the 
army« It is a very common sight to see a man 
coming down the street, walking beside the rude 
wagon drawn by two faithful milch cows. The 
harness is rather abbreviated, consisting merely 



Die Mosel und Der Ehein 239 

of a padded belt over the horns and trace chains. 
The cows are guided by an occasional growl of 
Deutsch ''hngo/' which is often accompanied by 
a stroke or motion of the whip usually carried by 
the driver. Thus the chief means of conveyance 
are the milch cows and the rude wagons. Some- 
times if the family is fortunate enough to have 
a horse, they have a surrey, which has a capacity 
of about four persons. There is usually a bicycle 
in the family. Automobiles are a luxury. This 
is accountable partly because the winding roads 
do not afford as good haven of joyriding as in 
America but the chief reason seems to be that the 
customs are a decade or more behind time. Ex- 
cepting the traffic of the American Army one 
would see an auto about as often as we did in the 
U. S. A. ten or twelve years ago. 

Rations in Rhineland were scarce as compared 
with the U. S. A. Potatoes were the chief edible. 
Turnips were raised in abundance but a large per 
cent of them was used to feed the cows and 
swine. Good flour was not to be had during the 
war but while we were there a marked improve- 
ment was noticeable in flour as well as everything 
else. The bread was black, the original war 
bread was made of potato flour, sawdust, and the 



240 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

sweepings of flour mills. Each family usually 
cooks enough at one time to last two or three 
weeks, there usually being a large furnace and 
oven in the wall exclusively for that purpose. 
Biscuits were unknown; however, waffles were 
made quite often, • especially whenever a family 
was fortunate enough to have some of the best 
flour. In some instances no bread whatever was 
served with meals, baked potatoes being the ap- 
parent substitute. Parched rye is used for coffee 
and quite a lot is consumed. The black bread 
smeared with butter and the "coffee'' is the usual 
breakfast. The table is never spread for that 
meal and none of the family eat at the same time. 

Small patches of wheat, oats, and corn are 
raised on the little prairie hills, but, of course, im- 
mediately on the Mosel nothing but grapes are 
raised. The rude mills which make the meal or 
flour are always located near a swift stream and 
run by water power. Besides being used for 
flour the wheat is also used for a table dish by 
boiling. This makes it very much like our oat- 
meal and with plenty of milk it is naturally a very 
nutritious food. 

Although people who do so much manual labor 
as these folks do require a great deal of meat. 



Die Mosel vUnd Dee Rhein 241 

hog meat was not to be had during the war. I 
did not make sufficient inquiry to ascertain 
whether this was due to scarcity of hog feed and 
no meat was produced or whether the Govern- 
ment seized what was produced. Since the war 
they have some hog meat. Milk and butter are 
plentiful and aid materially in reducing the cost 
of living. 

During the war there was no chocolate nor 
cocoa, and the people had scarcely tasted either 
for four years. It wa^ indeed a treat to them 
when some soldier would purchase a bar of choc- 
olate or a can of cocoa for them at the army can- 
teen. 

The Germans also had been compelled to 
use very poor tobacco which was mostly leaves 
of something else and they certainly did ap-. 
preciate Prince Albert and Camel cigarettes. 

The German Government controlled the 
food situation during the war and it affected 
some commodities to the extent that total 
abstinence was observed to the nth degree. 
Frequent inspections were made of each family 
cupboard and whatever the Kaiser's police 
wanted they took, usually paying for it, how- 
ever. The demand for some things was so 



242 Adventuees op the A. E. F. Soldier 

great that one could often sell to individuals 
for two or three times as much as the govern- 
ment paid and that caused lots of smuggling 
and concealments. Ofttimes a family would 
be required to have on hand a certain quantity 
of a certain commodity at a certain date and 
when the food inspectors would call for it they 
usually placed some one in jail if the orders 
had not been obeyed. This applied not merely 
to food products alone but to horses, cows, 
hogs, etc., and in fact everything that the gov- 
ernment could use, which, of course, covered 
a wide field. 

During our sojourn on the Mosel I had 
occasion one afternoon to observe two civil 
police searching a man's premises for some 
suspected surplus potatoes, or '"kartoffeln," 
which were finally found. The man had not 
given up as many potatoes as his neighbors 
and the authorities suspected hini. The pota- 
toes are usually kept under the huge cellar 
under the house and the man had far below 
the normal quantity there. The police found 
a suspicious looking pile of rubbish in an old 
shed and after digging into it they discovered 
the coveted potatoes. The man would yell and 



Die Mosel und Dee Ehein 243 

cry at them but he could not interfere as he 
was safely handcuffed. I was billeted in a 
house not far away and upon hearing the yell- 
ing I hastened to the scene. The police, ar- 
rayed in their gold-trimmed uniforms, which 
at first impression I thought must have been 
some that the Kaiser had abandoned in his 
hasty retreat, y^ere apparently exercising their 
authority. One of them asked me if I could 
speak German. I told him that I could not 
but that we had an interpreter in town who 
could. I could understand enough to know 
what the trouble was but I could not see why 
they wanted an American soldier who could 
speak ''Deutsch." Finally they made me 
understand that it was not they but the pris- 
oner who wanted an American soldier. Per- 
haps he thought that as we had been bossing 
those little towns in some respects, that we 
would intercede in his behalf and defy the au- 
thority of the German civil police and that the 
latter would yield to our orders. 

I did not go for the interpreter as I preferred 
not to become entangled in their difficulty in 
any way. The police soon left him in his 



244 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

storm of anger and said that they would call 
the next day for their share of the potatoes. 

The food was rationed during the war. In 
fact there was a limit placed on all necessities. 
One had to have a ticket for everything — 
sugar, meal, bread, coffee, shoes, clothing, etc. 
I'he prices of all these became exorbitant, 
sometimes being tenfold what they were be- 
fore the war. A $50 suit of clothes cost 2,000 
marks which is about $500 at the normal rate 
of exchange, but was less than $200 while v^e 
were there. 

The food situation in our part of Germany 
was not so bad as some of us had been inclined 
to believe. However, it was far worse than 
our own. Even our army kitchens afforded 
better eats than the average German table. We 
were told that in normal times there were 
enough hogs raised for home consumption. 
Of course, most, of the hogs were raised upon 
the prairie where abundance of feed could be 
raised. 

Many of the little villages along the Mosel 
had a companion village on the opposite side. 
These were connected together by a simple 
ferry, there being a small boat for passengers 



Die Mosei, u^d Dek Ehein 245 

only and a large boat for vehicles. The stream 
was very swift and all the boats were attached 
to a cable. The small boat had a rudder which 
would adjust the boat so that the front would 
be diagonally up the stream, thus the current 
would strike the boat diagonally, and because 
of the resistance offered by the connection of 
the cable the resultant force would be in the 
direction at right angles to the current or di- 
rectly across the stream. 

The large ferry boats for wagons, etc., had 
no rudder but the large connecting wire 
branched in two and extended to each end of 
the boat. These respective wires could be 
either tightened or relaxed and thus be ad- 
justed as the situation demanded. The current 
was exceedingly swift and the wires would 
break if they were not real strong. On one 
occasion we saw one of the large boats going 
swiftly down stream carrying a wagon laden 
with potatoes, hay, etc. 

The railroads which we found in our section 
of Germany were very much like those we had 
seen in France. All the trains were small and 
their accommodations meagre. The tracks were 
of light steel and the roadbed was usually 




'i""'i»[ffpp^ 




246 



Die Mosel ukd Dee Rheijt 247 

rather poor, the crossties being very old and 
rotten. We saw a wreck one evening where 
the rails had spread and not a solid tie was to 
be found for a distance of two hundred yards. 

The most puzzling and noticeable thing 
about the railroads is the vast difference ex- 
pended on the roadbeds as compared to that 
used in the large strong bridges and depots. 
Almost all the stations that are junctions have 
large underground passageways, the building 
of which necessitates a great amount of labor 
and expense. Likewise there are very few sur- 
face crossings, the railroad usually being over 
the surface road. 

The railroad coaches, though small, are 
built on the order of our American cars so that 
you can walk through from one end to the 
other. There is also a heating process which 
can easily be adjusted to suit the occasion. 
Perhaps the reason that the roadbeds are no 
more solid and the cars no larger is because 
the countr}^ is so close together that no better 
service is needed. 

Every family in the ]\iosel valley is within 
three hours ride of either Trier or Coblenz and 
with two or three trains each way per day no 



248 Advei^tures oe the A. E. F. Soldier 

large express trains are needed. The main 
line from Trier to Coblenz runs directly across 
the country while another road called the Mo- 
seltalbahn follows the many meanderings of 
the river to Alf-Bullay where it joins the 
former. 

It seems like toyland to see the little trains 
creeping along by the side of the river and 
hear the engine's shrill whistle. The majority 
of the passengers ride in the third-class coaches 
which have no cushions or seats. Whoever 
gets a seat first generally keeps it, regardless 
of how many women and children are stand- 
ing. Anyone travelling must keep on the look- 
out for the desired destination or be real fa- 
miliar with the country because no stations 
are called and one must depend on seeing the 
sign at the station. 

The political subdivision corresponding to 
our county is the ''Kreis" and the smaller ones 
like our precincts are Burgemeisterei. The 
latter usually includes five or six little villages. 
In each village there is a secretary of the Bur- 
gemeister and he makes his circuit. At each 
block he stops, rings his bell, and makes his 
announcements while the people flock around to 



Die Mosel und Der Khein 249 

listen. Everything of local interest is announced 
through the Burgemeister or his secretaries. 
Those who are in any trouble or perplexity 
may appeal to the secretaries for relief. 

The daily life of those German people is 
rather simple. Every member of the family 
v^orks hard. It is quite common to see an old 
woman or a girl carrying water and scrubbing 
the street in front of the house at lo o'clock 
at night. The cultivation of the vineyards re- 
quires an immense amount of work and every 
member of the family participates. On Satur- 
days, however, the girls usually remain at 
home to scrub the floors, bake bread, etc., so 
that everything will be spic and span for Sun- 
day. 

Those Germans are strong on gossip. People 
who think that we Americans are ''gossipers" 
do not know the ways of the world. We don't 
know the first principle. Even our army gos- 
sip does not equal that of those small German 
villages. Anything that happened even among 
us was known by all the natives before all of 
us knew it. 

Some of our boys were washing an icscort 
wagon in the edge of the river. It rolled out a 



250 i^DVENTUEES OF THE A. E. F. SOLDIEE 

little too far and soon was gone down stream 
and within three minutes every inhabitant of 
the town was laughing about it. 

In the latter part of January the civilians 
somehow got the new^s that we would leave 
the first week in February, while we were per- 
fectly ignorant of when we were expected to 
leave. The local rumors failed to materialize. 
A few days after we were supposed to leave I 
asked some fellow what was the news and he 
replied, ''We left here day before yesterday." 

Most of the German men smoke long pipes 
made of cherry or applewood. The larger 
pipes have porcelain bowls. Most of the boys 
smoke cigarettes. All drink wine and beer and 
occasionally schnapps, although all are very 
temperate in drinking the latter. 

Each familv retains 'enough wine in its 
cellar for home use. The beer is usually pro- 
cured at the ''Gasthaus" which is to be found 
in every village. It is manufactured in the 
large cities. Some is made of hops and some 
from sugar beets. The beer they had while we 
were there was very weak, but they told us 
that before ''dem Krieg" the beer was very 
good. Schnapps resembles our alcohol. Some 



Die Mosel und Dee Ehein 251 

i^ made from grain and some is made from the 
residue of grapes after the wine making process. 

The Germans, Hke the French in one respect, 
seldom drink to excess. In the wine room or 
Gasthaus they smoke their pipes or cigarettes 
and sip their wine or beer at leisure, while 
they laugh and talk or play cards. They think 
it strange that prohibition is agitated in some 
countries ; however, if they had as large a coun- 
try as ours filled with every variety and blend 
of nationality that survived the flood they 
would, no doubt, appreciate our situation. 

The dress of those village people is hardly 
as good as the average American farmer. 
Patched trousers are often worn on Sunday. 
Most of the German soldiers of that section 
who survived the war automatically demobi- 
lized themselves as they went back toward the 
Rhine and they used their army uniforms for 
everyday wear, though sometimes having a 
different headdress. Most every boy had a 
pair of knee length boots which had been worn 
in the trenches. In the winter time ' those 
heavy greenish overcoats which donned our 
enem}^ as they occupied the various lines and 
front, were quite commonly seen. Wrap leg- 



352 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

gins like we wore, only green instead of O. D., 
were quite commonly worn by those who did 
not have the boots. All of the everyday shoes 
were reinforced with hobnails the same as our 
army shoes. Some member of each family 
usually polished all 'the shoes on Saturday. 
Boys ten years old and past wear long trousers 
and standing collars. The fad of w^earing the 
soft negligee collars like ours is growing quite 
popular. On all special occasions, especially 
weddings (heirats), there is quite a display of 
fine clothes, costumes, flowers and palms. 
Abundance of the two latter can always be 
found in the gardens of the nicest homes and 
great pains is taken in their cultivation. 

For amusements the people indulge in sim- 
ple indoor games such as cards and checkers. 
The children play ball and marbles. The balls 
are of yarn but great interest was manifested 
in our national game whenever we were toss- 
ing the regulation baseball. The children at- 
tain very high efficiency in juggling. It was 
quite common to see a little chap tossing four 
or five balls at a time. All the boys large 
enough to swim take delight in exploring the 
river in the summer time. 



Die Mosel und Der Rhein 253 

Singing, dancing, fishing, and rowing are 
the chief pastimes of the grownup set. They 
are all lovers of music and take great pains in 
learning to sing. Our infirmary at Lieser had 
formerly been a music school room. There 
was an organ there and the church choir 
practised there about twice each week for 
awhile. The patience they exercised was re- 
markable. At the first effort at a song the 
voices would be very squeaky in reaching the 
higher not'es, but after they had sung it over 
and over and over, ofttimes to our great discom- 
fort, all the notes would be made perfectly 
clear. They would not quit a song until they 
had conquered all their errors. Pianos were 
to be found only in the most well-to-do homes, 
but quite a number of the homes had zithers, 
mandolins, guitars, violins and cornets. 

Sunda3^s are spent in going to church, visit- 
ing, and congregating along the streets to ex- 
change gossip. All of the streets are of rock 
or at least a solid surface and anyone attempt- 
ing to sneak out of town can easily be de- 
tected and the news is soon scattered. 

The prevailing religion is Catholic, although 
there are quite a few Protestants. At Mul- 



254 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

heim, just opposite Lieser, there was a large 
Protestant Church and the members from the 
nearby villages attend every Sunday. 

So much for those people and customs of the 
Mosel Valley as they existed during our so- 
journ there. The next chapter will be devoted 
to our own life while there and our relations 
with those people. 



The Army of Occupation" 255 

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE ARMY OF. OCCUPATION. 

Our Division contained men from almost 
every part of the globe. Apparently every 
state of the union was represented. I met men 
from half of the United States, Alaska, Eng- 
land, Sweden, Belgium, France, Italy, Den- 
mark,, Holland, Mexico, Canada and Germany. 

One time a crowd of us was discussing the 
variety. I remarked that one fellow in our 
regiment said that we passed within ten kilo- 
meters of his birthplace near Trier. Another 
fellow spoke up, ''I was born in Holland. The 
rest of the family live there yet. I could go 
back to the old home in six hours if I had a 
pass." 

A very close friend of mine was of German 
descent, his paternal grandparents having mi- 
grated from Germany. There was a village on 
the Mosel not far from us of the same name. 
We teased him a great deal about being a Ger- 
man spy, our enemy, etc. 

Our division had been completed from the 
April contingent of Camp Dodge, Iowa, draft- 



256 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

ees, most of whom were from Minnesota, Iowa, 
and Illinois. Many of these were of German 
descent and could speak German. With their 
assistance we could converse with our new 
neighbors a great deal better than we had been 
able to in France. 

During our first few weeks in Germany- 
most of us who could not speak the language 
did not try to learn much of it, because we 
thought that we would stay only a short time 
and we did not think it worth while to learn 
a language which had become so unpopular in 
the United States. However, as time rolled 
on we became more interested in German and 
we soon learned to say even more than "Ja/' 
"Danke sehr," and ''Bitte sehr." One fellow 
said that he learned eleven words quite easily. 
He said that he could count to ten and say 

"Ja." 

When we located in the vicinity of Bern- 
castel, little did we think that we w^ould be 
there until the following May. We had many 
and varied opinions, as usual, as to how long 
we would stay in the Mosel country. Very 
few thought that drafted men would be kept 
in Germany even until peace was signed and 



The Army op Occupatioi^ 257 

even the Big Four thought that peace would 
be a reaHty in April. 

The first few weeks we spent in Rhineland 
we enjoyed some good rest. Each man had a 
good bed to sleep in and as the nights were 
long we could get plenty of sleep even before 
reveille. Our little detachment stood reveille 
a few times until our captain moved to the 
castle where he slept so soundly within its 
massive walls that the bugle calls could not 
awaken him and that marked the finale of our 
reveille. We regretted this very much (???), 
but owing to the perseverance which we had 
developed in the trenches we could endure 
almost anything, so we did not complain. 

If there was ever any period in American 
or German history that any part of Germany was 
Americanized it was during the days that the 
American Armies occupied the Mosel and Rhine 
country. 

When we first arrived in German territory 
we were really surprised at the kind treat- 
ment accorded us. We were warned by gen- 
eral orders not to comment on that fact in 
writing back to the States, as it might cause 
the promotion of undue sympathy for the 



258 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiek 

enemy. Although the kind treatment was ap- 
parently sincere there was a high probability 
that the majority of it was camouflage and 
propaganda because the Germans knew that 
President Wilson would be a big man at the 
peace table and if they wanted any pie there they 
must try to win sympathy and friendship from the 
boys who had made an early peace possible. 

It seemed so odd to be in the army and be 
living in a German home, ofttimes occupying 
a room of a German soldier who had been 
killed in the war. Technically speaking, those 
families were still our enemies even though all 
hostilities had ceased. We were forbidden to 
fraternize with those people, presumptively, 
for the same reason that we were not allowed 
to write home about the kind treatment. Do 
you suppose that this order was complied 
with? Take the case of the Sammy who had 
been in the. army from 8 months to 2 years, 
has had no comforts of home life, had lived in 
the rain, mud, shells, gas, etc., with his life and 
health imperiled- at all times and has been ra- 
tioned on corn beef, hard tack and coffee and 
is 6000 miles away from home with no assur- 
ance of just when he will get back. Would 



The Aemy of Occupation 259 

3'OU think for one minute that he would refuse 
a glass of wine, a pitcher of hot milk, a plate 
of hot waffles or a few good apples? What 
would a man of ordinary prudence have done 
under the same or similar circumstances? 

We acted exactly as the ordinarily prudent 
man would have. No army order was ever 
violated any more than that one; however, 
flagrant violations were not tolerated for a 
long time. On one occasion after a heavy 
snow some fraulein propelled a snowball in 
the direction of a certain soldier which made 
salvage of a ten dollar pair of spectacles and 
within two hours an order came out to the ef- 
fect that snowballing had been construed as 
fraternizing and it' would not be indulged there- 
after and so on, etc. During our last days 
there, however, the fraternization rules were 
somewhat relaxed and the homesick soldiers 
allowed more liberty. The authorities evi- 
dently realized that we merely wanted some 
of the home comforts which we had been ac- 
customed to in civilian life and that we were 
on our guard at all times for any insincere 



260 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

courtesies which might be shown us solely for 
the purpose of gaining friendship. 

We gradually became adapted to the en- 
vironment of our new home. A soldier would 
refer to "my room'' with the same air of freedom 
as if he had one of the best rooms in a good hotel. 
It was no longer "my bunk.'^ The term "at the 
house" was substituted for "at the barrack" or 
"at the billet." 

We were really in billets but we drew a distinc- 
tion in living in haylofts or on the floor of a vacant 
house and in living in good warm rooms with 
three or four feather mattresses on each bed 
and for fear of the former construction we 
avoided referring to "billets." 

The country we were occupying was being 
Americanized. The Stars and Stripes were 
flying throughout our area. The American 
Army was boss. We were running the rail- 
roads and the civilians had to have a pass to 
ride. There was a sawmill at Berncastel-Cues 
and whenever lumber was needed at any place 
the engineers would have it shipped out. As 
Lieser was the chief home of the "builder" 
that place became a veritable lumber yard. 
The Kaiser and his subjects who had caused us 



The Army op Occupation 261 

so much trouble would have to foot the bill, so 
we should worry. 

When the "Star Spangled Banner" was be- 
ing played Mr. Dutchman had to stop his 
rumbling wagon in the street and stand stock 
still until the last note echoed from the stone 
buildings. When any of the civilians passed by 
"Old Glory" they had to take off their hats and 
remove their long-stemmed pipe or cigarette 
from their mouths. Some of them disliked 
this but we kept a guard on the job to see that 
the flag which we had carried to victory with 
pride and honor was not to be disrespected by 
those to whom jWe were returning good for 
evil. 

In addition to these compulsory matters, 
many of our ideals were adopted ^by the Ger- 
mans voluntarily. Any nationality is more or 
less partial to their own ways but the German 
is considered an extreme in that respect; how- 
ever, in spite of that the people took a notice- 
able interest in the English language. Some 
attribute that to German3^'s desire to dominate 
the world commerce, but whatever is their mo- 
tive a goodly per cent of them can speak a 
little English. 



262 Adven"turbs of the A. E. F. Soldier 

As to pastimes, the Germans soon adopted 
the U. S. playing cards of fifty-three to a deck 
in preference to theirs of thirty-three. SoHtaire 
and casino were substituted for ''solo" and 
"sixty-six." 

Cigarettes and tobacco made in the /'Vater- 
land" were sidetracked for those made from 
the native weed from Virginia, Kentucky and 
North Carolina. 

Among their music there were many selec- 
tions of American origin. I was in the home 
of a music teacher a few times. He was the 
organist at the church in the little village. He 
had, an extensive collection of classical music 
and songs. Most of the latter had the corre- 
sponding English words under the German. 

The Germans were greatly impressed with 
the wealth of the American people. They ex- 
pressed surprise and apparent admiration 
when we would tell them of the cheap $10,000 
insurance which almost every soldier carried, 
the allotments for dependent members of the 
family, the vast fortunes reaped by the Gov- 
ernment by means of the income and excess 
profits taxes, the over-subscriptions of all the 



The Army of Occupation" 263 

Liberty Loans and the amounts raised by the 
sale of War Savings Certificates. 

The vast contributions of money to the Red 
Cross and the other welfare organizations con- 
vinced them that the United States v^as in- 
deed a land of dollars but the fact that those 
contributions had been made so liberally, ex- 
ploded the absurd doctrine taught them by the 
junkers that the Americans worshipped only 
gold and cared for neither honor nor human- 
ity. 

As a rule, everything went along very 
'smoothly between the ex-German soldiers and 
the nephews of Uncle Sam. There were rare 
cases in which both would be in the wrong and 
have a trivial difficulty. We usually avoided 
any reference as to who was right in the war 
or who was wrong; however, if any reference 
was made of our being in the war we stood 
firm in our condemnation of the Kaiser and 
the submarines. 

On one occasion a German was complaining 
to me of the heavy taxes and the burdens 
which were being placed upon them by the 
peace adjusters. I merely told him that wars 
were very expensive and that as the Kaiser 



264 Adve^sTtuees oe the A. E. F, Soldier 

started the war the people of Germany must 
pay the bill. I also told him that Rhineland 
was in much better condition than Belgium or 
Northern France because the Belgians and 
French had to rebuild their homes. I did not 
emphasize my disapproval of the pillaging of 
the German soldiers, but he surely took the 
hint. 

The harmony which existed between us and 
the inhabitants of Rhineland can be largely 
attributed to the average good conduct of the 
American soldier. The record made by the 
Sammy in the World War is such that even 
remote posterity will point to it with pride. 

The American soldier is brave, courageous, 
generous, honorable and unselfish. Tired, hun- 
gry, sleepy and perhaps wounded and bleeding, 
he will rush into almost certain death if there 
is anything to be gained for his country. He 
will share his last bite of reserve ration or last 
drop of water with his comrade. In the hos- 
pitals there were many cases where a patient 
would request the doctors to attend others 
first, stating that he could wait. 

There are some habits indulged in by a ma- 
jority of the soldiers which do not meet gen- 



The Aemy of Occupation 265 

eral approval. Most of the soldiers smoke 
cigarettes. There is so much lonesomeness 
connected with the soldier's life that he natu- 
rally becomes a smoker. Cigarettes are pre- 
ferred because they are more convenient. 
Cigars can scarcely be obtained and are too ex- 
pensive while a pipe and the accompanying 
tobacco requires too much pocket space in the 
army uniform. The majority of army smokers 
do not inhale the smoke, consequently there 
is not as much damage done to their health 
as some people think. 

The majority of the soldiers swear, not in- 
tentionally but carelessly. Swearing reached 
its climax just prior to the signing of the ar- 
mistice, when even the pulpit and the stage were 
searching the profane vocabulary for appro- 
priate adjectives for the Kaiser. Therefore it 
seems that if the soldiers will now abstain from 
further swearing they will surely get forgive- 
ness. 

Another bad habit is gambling. It is made 
a penalty by almost all the states. But no 
such evils result from gambling in the army 
as is the case in civilian life, because in the 
former the soldier has his actual necessities of 



266 Adventures of tpie A. E. F. Soldiee 

life furnished him and whenever he loses he 
has lost only his surplus and is not driven to 
despondency and dishonesty. Furthermore, 
very few soldiers neglect their duty for any 
kind of gambling. Gambling is usually re- 
sorted to in the absence of more wholesome 
pastimes. Whenever good reading rooms, etc., 
were accessible there was not so much 
gambling. 

In the German homes Sammy was polite and 
courteous as he would have been in a strange 
home in his native land. What a marked con- 
trast in that conduct and that of the Germans 
in Belgium and France. 

In spite of the fact that the Germans thought 
that their Deutschland was the best place in 
the world and that they were the smartest 
people, the conduct of the American doughboy 
won a place in the hearts of the natives of 
Rhineland that will be an important factor in 
the barriers against a repetition of the world 
slaughter. 



Watchful AVaiting 267 

CHAPTER XVII, 

WATCHFUL WAITING. 

Those who condemned "watchful waiting" so 
severely during our international crises with 
Mexico in 19 14 and with the Imperial German 
Government over the Lusitania affair in 191 5> 
little dreamed that within four years the Ameri- 
can soldier would be confronted with a situation 
which would necessitate the exercise of more pa- 
tience than any indulged in during the exchange 
of notes with Carranza and Von Bernstorff. 

Many felt that as we had done our share of 
fighting at St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne and 
had fired one of the last shots of the war that 
we ought to be allowed to go back to the best 
country in the world. 

Various interpretations of the Selective Serv- 
ice Act were discussed pro and con by all the men. 
Some said that since Wilson had declared that 
the signing of the armistice ended the war that 
we could not be held in Germany any longer. 
Others exposed the absurdity of that theory by 
saying that it was being done. 

We began our task as usual — in suspense. We 



268 Adventuees oe the A. E. F. Soldiee 

had no idea of how long we would constitute the 
new ''Watch on the Rhine/' Very few thought 
that we would be detained so long as we really 
were. The majority of the higher officials who 
understood military matters better than the men 
really thought that we would walk up the gang 
plank a great deal sooner than we did. 

In spite of the discontent, however, there was 
another phase of the situation which afforded a 
great deal of consolation. True enough, we had 
fought a hard fight but for that very reason we 
should be willing to spend a few months guard- 
ing the west bank of the Rhine in order to reap 
the fruits of the victory for which we had paid 
so dearly. 

The impatient, or at least the more impatient, 
argued that as we had fought so hard we should 
be relieved of the Army of Occupation. In reply 
to that those with the broader view argued back : 
Would it not be a stinging rebuke to the honor 
of Belgium, the bravery of Briton, the courage 
of France and the noble souls of the innumerable 
hosts who had made the supreme sacrifice, for us 
to complain of being in our present situation for 
a few months? If we were to make impossible 
the repetition of those awful crimes committed 



AVatchful Waiting 269 

by the enemy which had horrified the world, was 
it not necessary that we remain on the job a while 
longer ? 

Think of how much worse it could have been. 
Less than one year before the waves of Germans 
went surging through the Allies' lines at St. 
Quentin, threatening the great French capital 
every moment. At that time the Allied side 
looked so gloomy that we could scarcely predict 
final victory within two or three years. Men 
leaving the United States those days had faint 
hopes of returning before 1920 if ever. Think 
of how much worse it could have been. 

Were not all of us unhurt physically? Were 
not all who were able to be in the victorious ar- 
mies in Rhineland free from gas-poisoned lungs 
and serious scars of war which so many of our 
comrades would carry to their graves? Were 
we not living in good, warm, comfortable houses, 
sleeping in nice soft beds and enjoying the best 
meals we had had since the beginning of our 
army career, instead of living in shell holes in the 
mud and rain with the whizz bangs and air bombs 
playing their melancholy tunes around us while 
we ate slumgullion, hard tack, corned beef, etc. ? 



270 Adveiv^tukes or the A. E. F. Soldiek 

What if the latter were yet our hving conditions, 
with no prospects of an end in sight? 

Oh humankind! Are we never contented? 
Instead of bemoaning our fate should we not 
be thankful for our good fortune? Many of us 
soothed our impatience with those thoughts and 
let the time pass on. 

Soon after our arrival in Lieser we experienced 
a novelty — spending Christmas in a foreign land. 
We had a far better Christmas than we had ex- 
pected when we set out across the great whale 
pasture filled with treacherous submarines. We 
enjoyed a good dinner at our kitchens which was 
supplemented with our Christmas packages from 
the folks at home and those given us directly by 
the Y. M, C. A. Throughout the holiday week 
we fared sumptuously on cakes, wine, hot choc- 
olate and coffee. Chocolate was a rarity for the 
Germans and they were more than willing to cook 
it if we could furnish it. 

The higher army officials realized that it was 
going to be a problem to keep the homesick men 
contented and they began to promote various 
schemes and schedules that would alleviate our 
impatience. All organizations were culled for 
theatrical talent, baseball players, football stars, 



Watchful Waiting '271 

etc., and a good program was soon moving along 
splendidly. 

Our regiment at Lieser took charge of the 
auditorium and christened it ''Liberty Hall.'' 
Under that roof we spent many pleasant hours. 
Great lecturers of American fame visited the hall 
and they usually blended their discourse with 
compliments to our division which we took for 
the truth and not mere flattery. The entertain- 
ment branch of the Y. M. C. A. lost no time. 
Talented artists, musicians and readers gave us 
high class programs. 

The various units of the division organized 
shows and toured the country. Some very good 
talent was drafted from the ranks. Many of the 
men had been professionals. Some made splen- 
did camouflaged girls. Each show refrained 
from duplicating any part of another's program 
so far as consistent with its peculiar talent. Some- 
times there would be a show in a village every 
night in the week each one having something new. 
Each show was furnished a motor truck in which 
to travel from place to place and its personnel 
were excused from all other duties. 

These show patriots met with a great many 
difficulties. Costumes were scarce, stage space 



272 Adyentuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

was limited and the scenery none too elaborate 
and various other essential facilities were lacking, 
however, the little auditoriums were always 
crowded to their full capacity and we were well 
nigh ready to leave for home before the Dough- 
boy Minstrels and Whizz Bang Follies began to 
lose their charm. 

Baseball teams were organized and toured the 
country, affording enthusiastic fans the pleasure 
of enjoying many spectacular games. Football 
and basketball pursued a similar course. All 
kinds of athletics were indulged in and encour- 
aged. Boxing and wrestling were by no means 
neglected. ' In some instances good boxers and 
wrestlers progressed from the Army of Occupa- 
tion to the large French cities, particularly Paris. 
Horse shows were a great attraction. We had 
a splendid ground for horse shows at Berncastel 
and some real interesting feats in horsemanship 
were witnessed. 

About the first of February we began to get 
passes to Coblenz. It was generally understood 
that every man in the division would be allowed 
this opportunity and that the acceptance of the 
trip would not affect our right to a leave else- 
where. The pass lasted 72 hours but we were 



Watchful Waiting 273 

supposed to be away only two nights unless de- 
tained by a belated train or some similar hin- 
drance. Of course our railroad fare was free. 

As Uncle and his nephews were running the 
railroads, we didn't have to put out any Marks, 
Francs, Toms nor Alecs to ride. We had to 
change at Wengorohr and the entire running time 
to Coblenz including the time waiting for con- 
nections was about four hours. 

Several of us went to Coblenz on Lincoln's 
Birthday and returned the night of the iSth. On 
arrival there we were taken to a good barracks 
where each of us was assigned to a good cot and 
we were then issued meal tickets which enabled 
us to get our meals at one of the best cafes in the 
city. We had German waiters. The cafe had 
been closed to the public and was now operated 
exclusively for soldiers on leave. These meals 
and beds were free the same as our railroad fare. 

We found "Old Glory" waving on all the Gov- 
ernment buildings and hotels which were the 
various branches of the Third Army Headquar- 
ters. The Red Cross, Knights of Columbus, 
Jewish Welfare Board and the Y. M. C A. were 
established in splendid quarters, the latter having 
taken over the festival hall or ''Festhalle.'' 



2?4 Adyejsttuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

The Festhalle was the chief rendezvous for the 
leave soldiers. There was a canteen, reading 
room, recreation room and auditorium. The 
latter could be converted into a dance hall by 
simply removing the chairs as the chairs were 
graduated in height and the floor perfectly level. 
A German orchestra played there nearly all the 
time and there was a splendid show every night. 
The trips to Fort Ehrenbreitstein started from 
the "Y'^ with an able guide. At nights hot choc- 
olate was served free. Ofttimes there would be 
a dance in the auditorium after the show. There 
was a baggage room where our overcoats and 
musette bags were checked free. 

We were scheduled to take a boat trip up the 
Rhine on our second day in Coblenz but owing 
to there being so much ice in the river the trip 
had to be abandoned. However, we went aboard 
the ship and had lunch but we missed seeing many 
more old castles along the banks of the historic 
Rhine. I have already referred to some of the 
important sights we saw in a previous chapter. 
We were well entertained the entire time we were 
there. 

Time rolled on. True enough our regiment 
spent most of its time at "leisure'' as well as at 



Watchful Waitik^g 275 

Lieser. With the exception of a httle guard duty, 
ration transportation, battaHon reviews, etc., we 
did very little the first two months. In fact we 
had scarcely begun our new duties in Rhineland 
before we were termed the Army of (No) Occu- 
pation. Later, however, when the weather was 
not too inclement some drilling and target prac- 
tice was indulged in. 

Our regiment allowed passes to Trier, spas- 
modically from January until we left for the port 
of embarkation. This opportunity of seeing the 
oldest city in Germany appealed very strongly 
to many of the men and each organization had 
no trouble in finding its quota allowed to go. We 
had Tiardly appreciated Trier when we came 
through it because marching at "attention*' with 
a pack on your back for two hours is not the ideal 
way to enjoy metropolitanosophy. Personally, 
I did not take the regular Trier pass as I was 
waiting for the muchly coveted Paris leave. 

Athletics, shows, and vacations were not 
enough. The Army of Occupation was to 
have an educational program, so said G. H. Q. 
Regimental schools were at once organized and 
all who cared to could attend. This was a very 
favorable device for the buck privates who hap- 




276 



Watchful Waiting 277 

pened to be teachers to get revenge on some of 
the top sergeants. Later on our regiment was 
allowed a certain quota to attend British and 
French universities under the detached service 
plan. Our regiment was allowed to send only 
one to England which was our devoted chaplain. 
We were glad for his sake that he was to have 
the opportunity to see beautiful England again 
but we regretted very much to see him leave. He 
was indeed the first in war, first in peace, and first 
in the hearts of the boys. In many instances he 
had paid a last tribute to our dead comrades and 
had rendered assistance to the dying ones while 
the shells were still playing their deathly tune. 

Some went to corps school. Others to di- 
visional schools which taught general subjects. 
There were also special vocational schools which 
were filled to their capacity. 

About the middle of February, after having had 
a few cases of the flu, some of which were fatal — 
our regiment split up and moved to various parts 
of the divisional area to work on the roads. We 
were the engineers. We had boasted of how we 
had built roads and bridges under shell fire and 
said that we could build anything that could be 
built, so now why not try our hand at repairing 



278 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

the roads where the shells had ceased to smg? 
Our heavy traffic had been very wearing on the 
roads and if we wanted all of that ham, chocolate, 
etc., which we read of so much, was it not our duty 
to work the roads a bit? Another thing, if we were 
going to ''settle" in Rhineland, why not be in- 
dustrious citizens instead of duty dodgers all of 
our lives? 

Our Second Battalion scattered up and down 
the river, not far from Lieser, while the First Bat- 
talion went up on the cold prairie in the vicinity 
of Daun. Marked improvement in the roads was 
soon noticeable. Our platoons and squads were 
multiplied by the assistance of the German civil- 
ians. Our privates were made acting corporals 
each in charge of a bunch of Dutchmen as they 
would "arbeit an der Strasse.'' Thus about 
three months of our watchful waiting was spent 
in work. 

Although we were none too pleased at the 
thought that we would have to work a while, 
most of us found good locations and lived at 
ease. In many instances only a single platoon 
was in a village and each man had a room to him- 
self. We were thereby able to enjoy the modicum 
of privacy which we had so often longed for. 



Watchful Waitii^g 279 

The Kaiser's hunting grounds were in the vi- 
cinity of Lieser and there were a few violations of 
the order prohibiting the shooting of his deer. 
However, the offenders were seldom caught. On 
one occasion some game wardens or inspectors 
found venison in one of our platoon kitchens and 
a tedious explanation was in order. The cooks 
declared that a passing truck threw the venison 
off and they did not know who it was. This 
sounded rather mysterious but all efforts to gain 
more definite information were futile. 

Wild hogs, also, were often victims of the rifle 
from Camp Travis; however, one kitchen force 
explained that seven of the beasts were acciden- 
tally killed by a moving truck and that they were 
immediately dressed to prevent waste. 

During these days that we were located in these 
many little villages we lived at ease and had 
plenty to eat. We would attend the aforesaid 
shows in the old army trucks, many of which the 
Kaiser had formerly called his, and would go 
rumbling, with childish delight, over the roads 
where the Kaiser had often gone horseback rid- 
ing when visiting Baron von Schorlemer. 

About the latter part of February, out of a 
clear sky, came the thundering news that the 



280 Adventukes of the A. E. P. Soldier 

Ninetieth Division would sail in June. This 
stunned the majority of us because a few weeks 
prior we had gotten reliable news from Coblenz 
that we would go home via the Rhine and Rotter- 
dam, and "tout de suite" too. However, the 
dope that we'd sail in June was not mere gossip 
but was a divisional Memo. 

Regimental gossip took a severe slump. In 
fact it died out completely for a few weeks. There 
was no foundation or morale on which to build 
any rumors. The only consolation was that our 
suspense was relieved. 



Vacation Days 281 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

VACATION DAYS. 

Simultaneously with the definite announce- 
ment that we would not leave Germany very 
soon, furloughs were granted more liberally. For 
special reasons one could go to Belgium or any 
of the Big Four except the United States. 
There were splendid leave areas in the most 
attractive parts of France maintained for the 
sole benefit of leave soldiers. At all times dur- 
ing the remainder of our stay in Rhineland 
some of our regiment were off on vacations. 
To us it meant so much and covered such a 
wide field that I deem it proper to devote this 
chapter to it. 

During those long days of watchful waiting 
on the Rhine, nothing helped our morale any 
more than the many vacations. The granting 
of these was indeed "casting oil on the troubled 
waters.'' We had been in Europe for more than 
eight months and had not had a leave. It w^as 
a general rule that after four months in 
France one would be given two weeks vaca- 
tion but this practice had been discontinued 



282 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

during our gloomy fighting days because every 
available man was needed on the job. General 
Headquarters apparently had thought that it 
was far better to suspend the vacations and 
exert every effort to end the terrible struggle 
before winter than to take the matter semi- 
seriously and have to go into winter quarters 
which would give the enemy a splendid chance 
to prepare for another slaughter. Most of us 
appreciated those circumstances and there was 
very little serious complaint among the men 
because of their not having been allowed a va- 
cation sooner. 

There was one class of leaves to the Savoie 
country in France down near the Switzerland 
border in the edge of the Alps and in sight of 
Mt. Blanc. The cities of Aix-les-Bains and 
Chambery afforded a variety of attractions for 
the homesick Yankee. These were summer 
resorts visited each year by thousands of tour- 
ists who would spend young fortunes there. 

In going on these, our transportation and 
hotel bills were free, and when I say "hotel,'' 
I don't mean barracks. Men going on these 
leaves got splendid hotel accommodations. The 
hotels were not crowded as the tourists had 



Yacatiof Days 283 

not yet begun to swarm in and the number of 
soldiers going through there each was limited. 
Although our necessities on this trip were free, 
the thrifty French vendor, true to tradition, 
had conceived every imaginable scheme to 
separate the wealthy Yankee soldier from his 
francs. There was every brand of champagne, 
vin rouge, vin blanc, cognac and various and 
sundry bric-a-brac. Every shape, size, brand, 
color, kind and variety of souvenirs were dis- 
played to tempt the soldier's purse. 

One of the most popular classes of leaves 
was the fourteen day leave to any part of 
France except to the other leave areas which 
were operated on the plan detailed above. One 
could route his trip so as to see all the large 
cities and most of France. Many got a chance 
to peep into Italy or Switzerland. 

There was a captain in our regiment, a 
rather practical sort of fellow (I can say 
"'fellow" now because I am not inmyO. D.'s), 
whose duties were such, so he told the guard 
at the Franco-Spanish boundary, that he spent 
a few minutes in Spain. 

Many went to Dijon, Lyons and Marseilles 
during the cold winter days of February and 



284 Adventures of the A. E. ¥. Soldiek 

came back with stories of palms, flowers, and 
tropical fruits. Others went to Nice and 
Monte Carlo and saw the world of splendor 
and on their returning declared that one could 
not exaggerate on the beauty and attractive- 
ness of the recreation and gambling resort of 
the world. 

Most of those going on the fourteen day 
leave routed themselves through Paris. For a 
while those merely passing through that 
crowded city had to catch the next train out 
going to their destination. However, this rule 
was later relaxed and extended to a maximum 
of 24 hours. 

The regular Paris leave gave one a minimum 
of seventy-two hours in the city. If one did 
not care much for seeing the other parts of 
France, but preferred to see the capital city 
and see it well, that leave was preferable. It 
was the leave to see the quality rather than 
the quantity. 

I preferred the Paris leave to any of the 
others and had made my application accord- 
ingly. On Washington's Birthday I was up 
on the cold prairie and had the blues pure and 
simple. I had been sent up there on special 



Vacation Days 285 

duty in a fellow's place who was off on the 
leave to southern France. Suddenly he came 
in to relieve me and informed me that my pass 
was waiting for me at Headquarters. My 
gloom transformed to joy. I got my junk to- 
gether quicker than I ever had before and was 
soon on my way back to Lieser. The next day 
I met a friend from San Antonio, Texas, who 
was going also and on Monday, Feb. 24th, we 
started for France. 

We reached Trier about 11 o'clock and 
stayed there until i p. m. We passed through 
Luxemburg but did not stop. We arrived at 
Metz about 4 p. m. and stayed about one hour. 

Metz is a very modern city. All the build- 
ings are electrically lighted and steam heated 
and the many churches, monuments and beau- 
tiful homes scattered along the Moselle River 
make a splendid metropolitan combination of 
beauty. The signs in Metz were in German 
but they have perhaps since been changed to 
French. Metz proper had not been shelled 
nor bombed, even during OUR drive in that 
vicinity. The chief objective for our long 
range artillery had been the forts and the rail- 
roads in the outskirts of the city. The French 



286 Adventuees oe the A. E. ¥. Soldiee 

had protested against shelling Metz. As they 
expected it to be theirs after the war they did 
not want it destroyed. When we beheld the 
beautiful city we could well appreciate their 
position. 

We had a long tedious journey from Metz 
to Toul. That section of the road had been 
practically in No Man's Land for four years. 
The shells had sung their destructive song all 
along the right of way and as the roadbed was 
none too solid the trains travelled rather cau- 
tiously. 

We met a bunch of Frenchmen on the train 
who were returning from their sector of Army 
of Occupation in Rhineland. They were bound 
for home and freedom. We spent the time 
trying to "parlez vous" with them. We would 
get our French and German all mixed up and 
invariably say "Ja" for ''Oui." We had been 
in Germany for more than two months, living 
in the German homes and had had far better 
opportunity to learn that language than we 
had had to learn French, since the majority of 
our time in France had been spent in the 
trenches and mostlv awav from the French 



VaCxItion Days 287 

''poilus/' consequently we had become accus- 
tomed to "Deutsch/' 

Those Frenchmen were certainly a happy 
set. As they ate their bread and "monkey 
meat," drank their wine, and smoked their 
cigarettes their hearts were overflowing with 
joy at the thought of returning home for the 
first time, in some instances, for four years. 

They would point to their old dingy uni- 
forms and say that the latter would soon be 
salvaged and ''civile habileament" donned in- 
stead. 

We arrived in Toul about ii p. m., having 
travelled about fifty miles in six hours. In 
Toul we could not find a bed for love, political 
pull, nor money. The Red Cross was con-' 
ducting a hotel just opposite the depot but all 
the rooms were ''fini." We went into the wet 
canteen and partook of an enormous quantity 
of sandwiches and hot chocolate. We then 
went searching around in the direction ot 
town, in hopes of finding a hotel. 

At the gates of the city we encountjpred an 
M. P. who refused to admit us on a Paris pass. 
I positively told him that I did not care a con- 
tinental about seeing the city of Toul, as I had 



288 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

already seen it last October by climbing over 
the wall, but that we would like to find some 
place to sleep. All of my arguments were fruit- 
less which rather discouraged me because, usu- 
ally, I have the woman's proverbial ''last 
word/' However, the M. P. softened his tone 
and talked sensible, saying that he was merely 
going by orders, etc., etc., the same old story. 
He expressed his sympathy for us, which, al- 
though duly appreciated, did not relieve our 
fatigue in the least so we decided to "About 
face" and ''forward march'' to the depot. We 
went back to the station and waited for a train 
to Nancy which we caught about 2:30 a. m. 

We arrived at Nancy about 4 a. m. It was 
some time before we found a hotel but we 
finally located in the Y. M. C. A. Hotel and 
after a brief nap we enjoyed a good breakfast. 
The next day we spent in sleeping and seeing 
the city. 

There are many interesting things to see in 
Nancy. There are many parks, statues, 
churches, etc., which have a historical impor- 
tance. Many royal families have lived in the 
city as it was the capital of Alsace for a number 
of years. At present it is the capital of the 



Vacation Days 289 

"Department" of "Meurthe-et-Moselle'' and has 
a population of about 150,000. 

On Wednesday morning, the 26th, we 
boarded the train for Paris. Just before leav- 
ing the hotel we met an old friend of mine 
from East Texas who accompanied us. As we 
were out of the Army of Occupation area we 
had to buy our tickets, which was a mere trifle, 
being 9 francs to Paris, which was one-fourth 
the commercial rate. 

We had a second class compartment and v/e 
could easil}^ lie down on the soft cushion ar.d 
sleep whenever we cared to. This was a great 
treat to us as our former trip through that sec- 
tion of the country had been in the "40 Hom- 
mes — 8 Chevaux'' type of cars. 

We passed through Bar le Due, Epernay, 
Chalons-sur-Marne, and battle scarred Cha- 
teau Thierry where the tide of the war was 
turned by our noble Second Division. It will 
require extensive engineering to ever conceal 
from the passengers along that route the signs 
of destruction wrought in that section of the 
Western Front. 

We arrived in Paris about 6 p. m., and after 
going through the ordeal of showing our 



290 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

passes to numerous M. P/s and Ei.. T. 0/s, be- 
ing checked in and sworn at, etc., we were so 
fortunate as to find the Y. M. C. A. Hotel not 
far from the station. 

The Y. M. C. A. and Red Cross certainly do 
their share to make the soldiers in Paris feel 
at home. The "Y" man at the station had di- 
rected us to the Grand Pavilion Hotel which 
was now conducted by the Red Triangulars. 
All of the rooms were occupied but we were 
directed to a small hotel, The Brady, where we 
secured real nice rooms at a reasonable price. 

We took our meals at the Pavilion Hotel and 
got splendid service and lots of good things to 
eat. A general bureau of information was 
there and all of the sight-seeing trips con- 
ducted by the "Y" left there twice daily. The 
hotel was one of the chief rendezvous for the 
leave soldiers. 

Having engaged our rooms and eaten a good 
supper (or dinner) we set out to see Paris. We 
walked to Boulevard des Capucines and down 
it until we reached the Place de I'Opera 
where we beheld the most beautiful opera 
house in the world. 

To the globe trotter, imbibed with wander- 



Vacation Days 291 

lust, or the careworn soldier who has been 
isolated for a time from the comforts of civilian 
and metropolitan life, there is no place in the 
world with more charm than this famous pan- 
oramical corner. As the surging crowd moves 
to and fro one can observe humanity of every 
clime in the endless stream. 

Paris, beautiful Paris, the city of the hour, 
the jewel of France, the queen of Europe. 
Every Frenchman is proud of his capital. In 
fact, Paris is far ahead of France. Any com- 
plaint of the country in the rural districts is 
met with the suggestion, ''But you should see 
Paris." The builders of Paris have been on the 
job ever since they started. It's ALL there, 
and more too. As one fellow said, ''You can't 
see the city for the buildings." 

There are no immense skyscrapers in Paris. 
It does not occupy one-half the space in the 
air as New York City, but it is the opposite as 
to ground space. Street cars are not so nu- 
merous as they have been superseded by the sub- 
ways. For twenty-five centimes one can ride 
all "under" the city. The sidewalks on the 
main boulevards are extremely wide. Under 
the awnings, which cover only about one-third 



292 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

of the width, there are numerous notion coun- 
ters, or if the building, happens to be occupied 
by a cafe there are rows of m.arble topped wine 
tables and rattan chairs. 

The Paris crowds are very patient. No mat- 
ter how badly crowded they are in the street 
cars, on the streets, in the subway cars, or any- 
where else, there is never any complaint. 

It is remarkable at the number of Parisians 
who can speak English. This, no doubt, has 
been stimulated in the past few years by the 
constant association with the people of the two 
great English speaking countries. Indeed, 
Americans are no novelty in Paris. 

We spent four nights and three days in the 
city and saw everything of historical interest 
that the "Y'' sight-seeing trips covered. We 
saw the St. Gervais "Church and .the shell-torn 
hole which had been wrought by Big Bertha 
on Good Friday, 1918; the famous Notre Dame 
Cathedral; Lafayette Monument, which had 
been donated by the school children of the 
United States; the old bridges across the Seine 
which had been built for several centuries; the 
place from where the murder of St. Barthol- 
omew was ordered; the famous Bastille; the 



Vacation" Days 293 

Eiffel Tower, and the Pantheon de la Guerre. 
The Pantheon de la Guerre is one of the 
greatest paintings in the world. The chief 
characters of all the Allied Nations as well as 
the ideals for which we fought are very vividly 
portrayed. In the American group President 
Wilson appeared so natural that we wanted 
to tap him on the shoulder and tell him to 
hurry up with the Peace Conference, because 
we were part of that new "Watch on the 
Rhine." On the concave surface of the dome 
was an elaborate illustrated map of the West- 
ern Front from the North Sea to Metz, show- 
ing the actual trenches, the chief cities de- 
stroyed or imperiled, etc., and the locations of 
the various armies. By looking at that great 
painting for one hour one can learn a large 
volume of the history of the World War and 
appreciate the true situation. This great pic- 
ture will indeed be one of the chief objectives 
for world tourists. 

The Hotel des Invalides, which Napoleon 
built, is a hospital for the sick and wounded 
soldiers of France. With all of its splendor 
and accommodations spectators are impelled to 
express profound respect for the great warrior. 



294 Adventuees or the A. E. F. Soldier 

The latter's tomb is in the background and it 
is very magnificent. There is also a vast col- 
lection of relics which pertain to the great 
chiefs career. Among them is the carriage 
which hauled the body to its last resting place 
on St. Helena Island. 

The Latin Quarter is one of the oldest sec- 
tions in the city. It contains all the great 
world famous universities of which the Pa- 
risians are justly proud. Most of the college 
buildings contain statues and marble busts of 
France's great professional men. Among them 
is Pasteur who invented the present day treat- 
ment for -hydrophobia and who was one of the 
greatest benefactors to medical science in the 
world. In the edge of this Latin Quarter are 
the Luxemburg gardens, the recreation park 
of France. 

I spent an entire afternoon in the Louvre 
Museum, which is decidedly the greatest in 
the world. During Napoleon's conquests he 
brought back numerous collections from Italy. 
Four of the ancient countries, Rome, Greece, 
Egypt, and Assyria, furnished the majority of 
the works of sculpture and painting. Many of 
the highly treasured statues had been encased 



Vacation Days 295 

in sand bags during the frequent bombard- 
ing and heavy shelling, among these being the 
world famous original Venus. After seeing 
the Gods and Goddesses one regrets that he is 
not more learned in their mythology. 

In addition to seeing the many historical 
sights of Paris, one can spend many interest- 
ing hours observing the commercial phase of 
the great metropolis. There are some of the 
mtDSt beautiful jewelry stores in the world 
with the tempting show windows which makes 
one wish he had ''beaucoup francs." There 
are also great shoe stores some of which are 
branch houses of American firms. 

I was greatly surprised at the modesty of 
the Paris styles. There has been an impres- 
sion in America that Paris is responsible for 
all of the styles of an indecent tendency. The 
fact that some of the costumes worn at some 
of our social functions are abbreviated to the 
extent that they are severely condemned by 
the pulpit and some of the public, is evidently 
due to the alterations made through the me- 
dium of commerce rather than the source. The 
highest class people in Paris have apparent 
good taste and there were not so many objec- 



296 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

tionable features as are found in some of our 
own cities. 

The average Parisian is not a helter-skelter 
money maker. He takes time to eat. He 
should worry because some extra money 
might be in store for him if he will rush back 
from ''dejeuner.'' He sometimes consumes 
two hours, as well as a goodly portion of wine, 
at his lunch. At the close of working hours, 
the cafes and their adjoining terraces are 
crowded to their capacity as the happy French- 
men laugh, talk, smoke, and sip their wine or 
beer. 

It is fortunate for the last Texas Legislature 
that they did not hold their session in Paris. 
If they had they would probably have been 
mobbed when they made an attempt to curb 
the practice of ''tipping/' because there it is 
more of a rule than a mere custom or generos- 
ity. In the cafes and hotels all waiters and 
porters are supposed to be tipped lo per cent 
of the bill. 

We took a side trip to Versailles and went 
through the great Palace built by Louis XIV. 
We saw the beautiful gallery of glasses in 
which the greatest Peace Treaty of the World 



Vacation Days 297 

was later signed. We also saw the gallery of 
battles which contained the paintings of all the 
famous battles in which France had been the 
victor. The battle of Yorktown was portrayed 
very vividly and you could easily recognize 
the hero of the cherry orchard. I looked in 
vain for the battle of Quebec and I inquired of 
the guide if it was not shown. He told me 
that he had never seen it and that as it was a 
defeat he presumed that the French Kings pre- 
ferred not to include it. 

After having had a splendid time in the 
charming European capital we left Sunday 
morning, March 2nd, and arrived back at our 
headquarters on Monday night. As we re- 
turned over practically the same route as we 
had come over, nothing of importance transpired 
on our return trip. 

Other vacations were enjoyed by those hav- 
ing relatives in Italy, Belgium and England. 
All men were supposed to carry their full 
equipment with them when going on leaves 
but that rule was violated fully as much as the 
anti-fraternization order. All going on leave 
who had to buy their meals were allowed a 
reasonable reimbursement for rations. Men who 



298 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

had been prone to criticize the Government 
and War Department in other instances were 
now convinced by these hberal vacations that 
the American soldier is more than a mere slave. 



Our Last Days in Rhineland 299 

CHAPTER XIX. 

OUR LAST DAYS IN RHINELAND. 

As the several units and subdivisions of the 
Texas-Oklahomans occupied the many little 
villages, nothing unusual happened. 

Not many v^eeks after the announcement of 
our sailing date being in June, rumors began 
to float that the shipping schedule had been 
moved up, and that we v^ould leave in early 
May instead of June. Although this v^as en- 
couraging v^e could not believe it for a long 
time. It sounded too good to be true. Noth- 
ing official came out for a long time to that 
effect and it seemed likely that it had origi- 
nated from some clever superoptimist w^ho 
thought that the best way to revive the "Wall 
Streefof the Army." 

^ In early April we could see that it was really 
a fact that we would bid good-bye to the Mosel 
before we saw the vineyards in their greenest 
splendor. By the middle of April it became 
official that our division would begin moving 
May 19th. 

Good Friday was a great event in Germany. 



300 Advei^tures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

The civilians took a holiday. We excused them 
from road work and allowed them to enjoy the 
fast day in their usual way. At Coblenz and 
Trier the natives were allov^ed the same free- 
dom that they would have enjoyed had there 
been no Army of Occupation. This w^as some 
contrast with w^hat had occurred on Good Fri- 
day only one year before when the St. Gervais 
Church in Paris w^as shelled by the Germans 
during the worship hours, which was the gross- 
est violation of civilized warfare ever commit- 
ted. 

On April 24th General Pershing reviewed 
our division at Wengorohr and awarded Dis- 
tinguished Service Crosses. He told the boys, 
that we would be on our way home "tout de 
suite'' et cetera, and said several other things 
complimentary to the longhorns and Indians. 
Later vv^e received the follov\^ing letter: • 

"American Expeditionary Forces. 

Office of the Commander-in-Chief, 
France, April 26, 1919. 

-Major General Charles H. Martin, 
Commanding goth Division, American E. F. 
My Dear General Martin: It gives me much 



hj 




302 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

pleasure to congratulate you and through you the 
officers and men of your division on the splendid 
appearance that it. made at its inspection and re- 
yiew on April 24th at Wengorohr. The smart 
appearance of personnel and the good condition 
in which I found the horse transportation and ar- 
tillery are sure signs of the high morale that per- 
meates all ranks. This is only what one could 
expect of a division which has such a line 
fighting record. 

Arriving in France toward the end of June, 
1918, it underwent until the end of August, 
the usual course of training behind the line. It 
was then placed in the Villers-en-Haye sector 
and there took part in the St. Mihiel offensive 
where it attacked the strong positions on the 
Hindenburg line immediately to the west of 
the Mosel River. In these operations it was en- 
tirely successful, mopping up the Bois-des-Rappes, 
occupying the town of Vilcy-sur-Trey, the Bois- 
de-Presle and the Foret-de-Venchere, and ad- 
vancing to a depth of 6 1-2 kilometers. On the 
night of October 21st the division entered the 
Meuse-Argonne offensive, taking the town of 
Bantheville and the high ground north and 
northwest of that town. In the tremendous 



Our Last Days in Rhineland 303 

attack of November ist it continued its 
splendid record, piercing the Freya Stel- 
lung, crossing the Meuse and taking 14 vil- 
lages in very rapid advance. The Carriere 
Bois, the Bois-de-Raux, Hill 246 (the capture 
of which was vital to the division on the left) 
and Hill 321 were the scenes of desperate 
fighting on the opening day of the attack. On 
November 2nd Villers-devant-Dun was taken 
and the following day the Bois-de-Montigny, 
Bois-de-Tuilly, Bois-de-Mont, Bois-de-Sassey, 
and the town of Montigny-devant-Sassey were 
taken, a very deep and rapid advance being 
made. On the 4th Halles was occupied. By 
November loth the infantry had crossed the 
Meuse and the town of Mouzay was taken. 
The division was pressing the enemy hard at 
the time of the signing of the armistice. 

As a part of the 3rd Army the division par- 
ticipated in the march into Germany and the 
subsequent occupation of enemy territor}^ I 
am pleased to mention the excellent conduct 
of the men under these difficult circumstances 
as well as for their services in battle. They 
are the credit of the American people. I wish 
to express to each man my own appreciation 



304 Adventuees oe the A. E. F. Soldier 

of the splendid work that has been done and 
the assurance of my continued interest in his 
welfare. Sincerely yours, 

(Signed) JOHN J. PERSHING." 

About May ist all organizations began to 
assemble at their original quarters and pre- 
pare for final inspections, orders, etc. The 
several detachments of our regiment moved as 
near Lieser as could be conveniently arranged. 
It was like an old family reunion to see the 
various "Buddies" who had not seen each 
other for three or four months meet each other. 

The well advertised Division Circus was 
pulled off at Berncastel-Cues May ist and 2nd. 
The parade justly belonged in the category 
of Barnum & Bailey and Ringling Bros. The 
Midway, which was called Loco Lane, fur- 
nished side shows of every variety. Chas. 
Chaplin in his Ford kept everybody laughing 
and scared too. 

The many good jokes that were played on 
the spectators convinced them that the pro- 
moters and managers were by no means ama- 
teurs. Megaphones were in abundance and 
each show claimed to have the best attraction. 
It seemed real. One was reminded of child- 



OuK Last Days in^ Rhineland 305 

hood days when he saw his first elephant or 
side show. The real ring circus with the talent 
of every state in the union was indeed a suc- 
cess. The many clowns, trapeze actors, acro- 
bats, etc., kept the spectators in an incessaiiL 
roar of laughter and appealed to the childlike 
disposition which everyone in the A. E. F. had 
developed. To prove that it was a Texas-Ok- 
lahoma affair it came a heavy rain the first day, 
which produced fivQ pounds of mud for every 
pair of hobnails that tread upon the grounds. 

The first week in May all the little winding 
roads in our divisional area were lined with de- 
tails of every unit of the division on their wa}^ 
to the Remount at Mayens, above Coblenz, to 
turn in the stock. 

All orders necessary for an early departure 
were being issued and complied with. All sur- 
plus equipment was being turned in. Our O. 
D.^s which had served us so well throughout 
the winter in Rhineland were being exchanged 
or at least reduced to one pair. 

Our Medical Detachment was in a peculiar 
situation with reference to our team of mules, 
/^Can't" and ^^Won't." The Quartermaster did 
not have us charged with them and did not 



306 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

want to receive them but they were govern- 
ment property. It will be remembered that 
we captured them near Faye-en-Haye in the 
St. Mihiel sector and they had been of very 
useful service ever since. On hiking into Ger- 
many these favorites of Balaam had hauled our 
blankets most of the time while our packs were 
camouflaged with some Sunday newspaper 
from home enwrapped in our shelter half. We 
did not want to sell the mules because we 
knew that we could not spend the money for 
chocolate, cigarettes, et cetera, so finally our 
major induced the Q. M. to take them and the 
little Dutch wagon that went with them. 

May ist was a big day in Lieser. The daugh- 
ter of Baron von Schorlemer and a wealthy 
German officer of Coblenz were married in the 
beautiful church and a banquet at the castle 
followed. Our officers indulged in fraterniza- 
tion to some extent and a great time was had. 
We were glad to see our officers have a good 
time because the majority of them were real 
men who merely wore officers' uniforms and 
not the kind who took advantage of their rank 
at every opportunity. 

Our last few days in Rhineland were spent 



Our Last Days in Ehineland 307 

happily. The beautiful hills along the Mosel 
grew greener every day. We now counted the 
time that must elapse in days. When we left 
the good old U. S. nearly one year before, we 
counted the time in which we would return in 
years. When we saw our allied armies gain- 
ing ground every day we measured our so- 
journ in months (if we were fortunate enough 
to survive). It was glorious to realize that we 
would leave ''this month.'' 

All of us were anxious to get home again. 
We had visions of the advantages of Texas, 
Oklahoma and the various other states of the 
good old U. S. A. 

The Lieserbach and the Mosel contained 
abundance of fish and for a nominal fee we 
caught some good bass and carp. Swimming, 
also, was as good pastime as fishing and the 
grown up men of the draft age reminded one 
of the barefoot days when we played hookey 
from school to swim in the "Old Swimmin' 
Hole." The longer we stayed on the Mosel the 
more beautiful the scenery became in spite of 
our anxiety to get home. The picturesque, 
green and shady hills and valleys afforded 
splendid backgrounds for kodaking parties. 



308 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldiek 

The days were growing long. Dark came 
at about 9 p. m. and very few of us knew what 
hour marked the break of day, because first call 
did not blow until about 6:30 and the earth 
was then well started on its daily journey. We 
thought of the bygone days of the training 
period and we chuckled with glee as we would 
roll on our feather beds. 

Just before our departure from Rhineland 
we got the order that we would go to St. Na- 
zaire instead of Brest. Many were infuriated 
at the news as they felt that it was such an in- 
ferior port that we would likely remain there 
for some time before we could walk the gang 
plank and then perhaps catch a small boat that 
would require three or four more days in cross- 
ing the Atlantic than the larger ones. 

On Saturday, May 17th, the first trainload 
of our division left Wengorohr. On Wednes- 
day, May 2 1 St, exactly five mxonths from the 
day our division located at Berncastel, our reg- 
iment left Lieser. The frauleins lined the 
streets as we left. All the rules against fra- 
ternization were violated and very few soldiers 
left there undecorated with flowers from hob- 
nails to helmet, or overseas cap, and the ma- 



Our Last Days in Ehineland 309 

jority carried an ample supply of wine. The 
weather was delightful and the hills glistening 
with verdure seemed to beckon us to remain. 

The majority of us went on trucks to Wen- 
gorohr. Some went on trains. As we rolled 
out through the hills and valleys we realized 
that most of us were seeing the Mosel country 
for our last time and that we were — "Home- 
ward Bound." 




310 



Homeward Boun^d 311 

CHAPTER XX. 

HOMEWARD BOUND. 

It was a happy sight at Wengorohr when our 
regiment assembled to entrain for our journey 
out of Deutschland and across France. Our 
unit with a part of Headquarters troop of the 
division made the last two train loads. Companies 
"A/' "B," "C," "D," and the Band and two-thirds 
of the Medical Detachment composed the first 
train and the remainder composed the last. The 
Y. M. C. A. was on the job and served abundance 
of chocolate and sandwiches. No one went to 
bed hungry that night. 

Our train was composed of box cars again but 
they were man-sized from the U. S. A. We had 
a great deal more room than we had had in the 
small French cars. We had bed sacks filled with 
excelsior which made a very good bed. 

I was on the first train. We went to bed at 
dark and the train pulled out at 12:06 a. m. 
Thursday morning. We came through Briey 
and the old battlefields to Verdun. All tlie way 
through the battle torn area the road was so 
rough that we could hardly stay on the train. 




bD 
O 



H 



312 



HoMEWAED Bound 313 

All around Verdun the hills and valleys were an 
agglomeration of ruins. The many cemeteries 
bore evidence of the slaughter of 1916. I wished 
that those Germans who had complained of the 
burdens of the peace treaty and declared ''Alles 
kaput an der Mosel" could see devastated France 
again as a reminder that the peace terms were 
really very mild. 

In the Verdun country we saw many Hun pris- 
oners at work rebuilding what they and their 
comrades had destroyed. Many of them came 
to the train and asked for cigarettes. Their re- 
quests were usually granted. 

About dark on Thursday the 22nd, we stopped 
at Gondrecourt for another meal, then we spent: 
another night of rough riding. The cars seem.ed 
to jump straight up and down. Neither Billy 
Sunday nor Henry Ford could possibly shake 
more hell out of anyone than those box cars which 
we left Germany in. 

The next day we passed through Bourges 
where we ate dinner. We were getting inro a 
very pretty country. All of the flowers and 
fields of grain had reached their zenith in charm 
and there were small streams and trees to com- 
plete the attractiveness. 



314 Adventuees or the A. E. F. Soldiek 

We passed through Tours and Gievres. At 
the latter place there was a large supply and sal- 
vage depot of the Service of Supply. As we 
gazed upon the thousands of empty "corn willy" 
cans we came to the conclusion that our regiment 
alone evidently had not consumed all the bully 
beef in the A. E. F. 

About noon on Saturday, the 24th, we arrived 
at Nantes, where we detrained. We were in a 
very unpleasant mood as we unloaded. We felt 
that there were boats in St. Nazaire waiting for 
us and we wanted to get there at the earliest pos- 
sible moment. xA.fter eating our lunch we got 
our packs on and started out in search for a place 
to stay. After walking about one mile in the 
heat we discovered that we were on the wrong 
road so we started back. After some two hours 
of "mean" hiking and crossing the numerous 
bridges of the Loire River we found very com- 
fortable billets in Pont-a-Rousseau, a suburb of 
Nantes. 

We wondered how long we would have to stay 
in Nantes and Pont-a-Rousseau before proceed- 
ing to the port. We passed off the time quite 
pleasantly, however. Many got passes to the city 
which is approximately the size of San Antonio, 



HoMEWAED Bound 315 

Texas. Our infirmary was located in a green 
house, and flower gardens and shade trees af- 
forded a very attractive resting place. 'There was 
a swimming pool nearby and many of us enjoyed 
a good "plunge." The remainder of our regi- 
ment was only about two hours behind us. They 
were not billeted with us but they were not far 
away. 

Although we had a good location we were de- 
lighted as we rolled on our packs on Tuesday, the 
27th, and completed our journey to the port of 
embarkation. We arrived at St. Nazaire about 
I p. m. All of our regiment except ''A" and 
Train Companies which had preceded us the day 
before. 

Under the hot broiling sun we put on our packs 
for another hike. We marched through town and 
down the Boulevard along by the side of the great 
blue waves. As we observed the latter and a few 
large ships, numerous cheers rang through the 
air. In the distance one out-going boat was grad- 
ually becoming invisible. A marine told us that 
it was loaded with a unit of our division. We 
also saw a large boat, the Mongolia, and our 
hearts beat with joy as we thought of the prob- 
ability of its being "Ours." As we continued our 



316 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

march to the camp we met the Second Battalion 
of the 359th Infantry making their way to the 
gang plank. 

After a very tiresome march we arrived at 
Camp No. 2 about 3:30 p. m. and within one 
hour the entire company had passed a very suc- 
cessful physical examination. At 5 130 p. m. we 
were marched into the large mess hall and treated 
to a good supper of pork chops, beans, bread, 
doughnuts and coffee. 

After our hearty meal we enjoyed a short 
band concert, the first number being "Homeward 
Bound." As soon as that was over we started 
down the dusty road to Camp No. i, which we 
passed through and located in Isolation Camp. 
Here a series of disappointments began. 

We expected to sail within at least three days 
and we thought that in the event we did not that 
we would enjoy some of the good eats which 
we had been reading about in the paper. The 
good meal at Camp No. 2 had caused us to be- 
lieve the reports of how the soldiers on their way 
home had feasted during their stay in St. 
Nazaire. 

Appreciating as I did, the tremendous task of 
caring for the personnel of the entire A. E. F., 



Homeward Bound 317 

I was always slow to criticize the War Depart- 
ment, but here I must digress from that policy 
and say that there was something wrong at St. 
Nazaire. It was more like a prison camp than 
anything we encountered during our entire 
career. The chow which was served us at Isola- 
tion Camp was no better than we had had in 
the trenches while in actual battle. Corned beef 
was the chief edible, three times a day. We real- 
ized, however, that feeding so many men was a 
problem, but the existence of all the facilities 
except the food made the latter less excusable. 
The mess hall covered about one acre of ground 
and there were five chow lines. The building was 
fioorless. There were 112 tables with room for 
a maximum of ten men to each table. There were 
no stools nor chairs and as soon as we finished 
eating we would make our way outside to the 
twelve big vats of mess kit water. Our band sup- 
plemented the corned beef and tea with some 
good music. We usually spoke of going to chow 
as going to ''music/' which was usually said in an 
undertone, however. We learned that several 
who had preceded us had been given heavy pen- 
alties for making complaints so that made the sit- 
uation worse. One fellow said that it was the 



318 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldiee 

first time he was about to starve and could not 
say a word about it. To aggravate the case we 
observed that the permanent men were getting 
plenty to eat. We could not understand it but 
we had to endure it. 

In spite of our scant chow, our few days in 
the camp passed off very well. The Y. M. C. A. 
had a splendid library. Each of the welfare 
organizations had a splendid entertainment 
program at Camp No. i, only one kilometer 
away. Commissaries were in abundance and there 
Vvas always a very long line at each one. The 
"Y'' also had some delicious iced cocoa and lem- 
onade. May Day was spent rather quietly, some 
of us attending services at Camp No. i and en- 
joying a real nice program. 

The pastime that served best to break the mo- 
notony, was baseball. One of the first games was 
between our regiment and the "black" engineers. 
It was quite interesting to see the shines rap the 
leather "wid de wood." To make the game more 
amusing our boys made a few intended over- 
throws and the blacks got so far ahead that it 
required some three innings for us to catch up. 
There were many other games between various 
companies of the regiment which made some of 



Homeward Bound 319 

the boys rather ''stove up" for the hike to the 
gang plank. The most interesting games were 
the two between the 315th Engineers and the 
Wild Cat Division, both of which we won, the 
latter one being a score of 2 to o. 

On Monday morning, June' 2nd, we hurriedly 
chased back over to Camp No. 2 for final inspec- 
tion which we passed O. K. In the p. m. we ate 
early supper and immediately crawled into our 
packs and made our last hike in France. We 
marched through town to the docks. Just before 
embarking we filed through the Y. M. C. A., 
where each of us was served chocolate, cookies, 
and cigarettes. About 9 p. m. we boarded the 
U. S. S. Alaskan. We slept peacefully in our 
new quarters and awoke the next morning to find 
ourselves still in the harbor. About 1 1 a. -m. we 
steamed away leaving the many French civilians 
in the streets waving us a fond good-bye and bon 
voyage. We were happy. As some have said, 
the best way to see France was from the stern of 
a ship. 

True to our expectations we drew a small boat. 
It only held our regiment and a few casuals. ;We 
felt a bit peeved as the sailors told us that it would 
require possibly 14 days to cross the pond, while 





Homeward Bound. 
320 



HOMEAVAED BoUND 331 

many of the others had acquired 8 and 9 day 
boats. However, we hoped for the best. We 
had much better accommodations than we had 
had on the Enghsh boat. We had good spring 
bunks to sleep on and lots of good things to eat, 
the latter including fresh meats, "dog" sausage, 
canned fruits, grape fruit, eggs, cocoa, and good 
bread. The canteen, also, furnished us plenty of 
tobaccos, candies, fruits, etc. The ship was all 
steel frame and many got a good fall before the 
hobnails were removed from our shoes. 1 

Our time on the ocean passed off real quickly. 
The Y. M. C. A. furnished us some splendid mag- 
azines. We enjoyed a good picture show each 
night when the weather would permit. We also 
had good band concerts and boxing bouts. 

On June 5th, the anniversary of our departure 
from Camp Travis, we awoke to find a real calm 
sea. As we were steadily steaming away from 
the sun a casual reflection impelled us to feel 
thankful for our good fortune. What difference 
did it make if we were on a slow vessel? One 
year before we would have been deHghted had 
we been assured that by June 5, 1919, we would 
be on our way back to the States even on a skiff. 



322 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

We were going due westward, what better could 
we ask for? 

The sea did not remain calm all the way. For 
about four days the waves were wild. The boat 
rocked like a cradle and seemed to be scarcely 
moving at all. However, we felt no fear for we 
knew that the submarine menace was a thing of 
the past and we could easily endure a mere rough 
sea. 

On our way we met several boats going toward 
the land which v\^e had fought on. None of us 
would have traded places with the passengers on 
those boats. The thing that tantalized us some 
was the occasional passing of a more rapid boat 
going in the same direction as we were. 

Friday the 13th, one year from our sailing date 
from Brooklyn Harbor, found us not yet in sight 
of land. Rumors became prevalent that we would 
see land Saturday night or Sunday. Regardless 
of when we landed it was settled that we were 
entitled to the second service chevron as we had 
sailed one year before and the latest ruling from 
G. H. Q. allowed us the time from departure to 
the arrival in a U. S. port in determining the 
time of our overseas service. 

On Saturday the 14th the fog became so dense 



HoMEWAED Bound 323 

that our foghorn blew continually to prevent a 
collision. We wondered if Providence intended 
to play a pleasant trick on us by allowing us to 
drift into port before we could realize it. The 
next morning the fog was no better but we were 
a happy crowd as we passed buoys and light- 
houses. The fog soon faded away and by 2 p. 
m. we could see land. Oh Boy! 

We soon began to meet numerous yachts loaded 
with various reception committees, one of the 
most important being that of the mayor of New 
York City. That party was accompanied with 
a good band and we went wild with joy as they 
played the many appropriate selections. "Home 
Sweet Home'' was the most impressive. The 
Statue of Liberty was in front of us, greeting us 
welcome home in the same position that she had 
told us good-bye one year and two days before. 
No one could have made us believe that the folks 
of the U. S. A. were more happy to see us back 
than we ourselves were to return. 

As we were pulling into the harbor we ate our 
supper. About 6 p. m. we anchored at one of the 
Brooklyn docks not far from where we had made 
the gang plank last year. We soon debarked 
and the Salvation Army was on the job taking 



334 Adventuees of the A. E. ¥. Soldier 

our telegrams to our loved ones at home. The 
Red Cross served us a most delicious lunch of 
mince pie, milk, chocolate bar and cake. On our 
way to the ferry boat the Y. M. C. A. showered 
us with cigarettes, chocolate, and chewing gum. 

As we steamed up the East River the many 
boats plying thereon greeted us with cries of wel- 
come and the display of appropriate banners. 
Wasn't it great? There was the Woolworth 
Building just as we had left it. We realized again 
that this was the grandest country in the world. 
No wonder that we fought so hard to preserve 
our ideals. 

We debarked from the ferry at Pennsylvania 
Station and took the Long Island Railroad for 
Camp Mills. Just as we were boarding the train 
the "Roses of No Man's Land" again accosted 
us with ice cold milk and cake. As we rolled out 
for the camp across the beautiful suburban coun- 
try so swiftly we reflected that we were again in 
the "land of the free and the home of the brave." 
We traveled farther in two hours than we did 
the first two weeks we hiked into Germany. 

We arrived in camp and were assigned to our 
barracks by lo p. m. We had already eaten two 
meals, nevertheless we found another one wait- 



HOMEWAED BOUJ^'D 325 

ing for us. The camp had improved wonderfully 
since we had left it. Tents had been replaced by 
good well painted barracks and all conveniences 
were accessible. Camp exchanges and the 
many huts of the various welfare organizations 
were well distributed throughout the camp. 

We awoke the next morning and enjoyed a 
good breakfast. The day was spent lounging 
around, taking baths and sending telegrams. All 
of us wondered how soon we would leave. We 
felt confident that we would have ample time to 
see Broadway and Fifth Avenue before our de- 
parture and we waited patiently for the Camp 
Officer to sign our passes. 

The majority of our regiment went to the City 
Tuesday afternoon, the passes being good until 
9 a. m. Wednesday. We went back to camp with 
various stories of the bright lights of Broadway, 
the many attractions at Coney Island and how 
the people on the streets "up town" looked like 
insects when viewed from the Observation Gal- 
lery of the Woolworth Building. 

We stayed at Camp Mills longer than we had 
really expected to. Howxver, we passed the time 
off quite pleasantly. Besides the trips to the city, 
there were good shows at the ''Y'' and the J. W. 



326 Adventuees oe the A. E. F. Soldier 

B. huts, as well as at the Liberty Theatre in the 
camp. There were also good shows at Hemp- 
stead and Jamaica, only a short ride from the 
camp. The War Camp Community Service 
ladies gave splendid dances at Hempstead and 
the camp Recreation Hall. 

On the 20th and 21st, "A/' "B'' and Train 
Companies broke up and left us. On Sunday 
the 22nd the remainder of our regiment was lined 
up and assorted according to destinations. The 
Oklahoma and Texas men went to Camp Pike, 
Ark., and Camp Bowie, Texas, respectively, ex- 
cept a few who accompanied Regimental Head- 
quarters which went to Camp Dodge, Iowa. As 
we sat around in the hot sun we bade good-bye 
to our distant comrades with whom we had gone 
through the awful war, but it was a cheerful 
good-bye. No one ever saw a happier crowd. 

On Monday afternoon the first trainload pulled 
out for Camp Bowie. We were in real comfort- 
able Pullman cars once again. We were soon 
followed by the second section. We came over 
the Pennsylvania System to St. Louis, passing 
through Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburg, 
Columbus and Indianapolis. Out of St. Louis 
we took the Frisco, passing through Springfield 



HoMEWAED Bound 337 

and Monett, Mo., Tulsa, Okla., and Denison, and 
Sherman, Texas, arriving in Fort Worth about 
dark, Thursday. The Red Cross treated us all 
along the route with ice cream, cookies, coca-cola, 
sandwiches, and cigarettes and our entire crowd 
showed that we appreciated the hospitality beyond 
expression. 

The night we arrived in Fort Worth we slept 
in cars on the siding near the camp. The next 
morning we marched into Camp Bowie and lo- 
cated in some of the hottest tents we had ever 
lived in. It was June 27th and we were wearing 
our O. D. clothes. It seemed that we were nearer 
the infernal regions than we had been since we 
had left Meuse-Argonne. Our overseas caps, pos- 
sibly, kept our hair from sunburning, otherwise 
they were absolutely worthless. Even the smallest 
clouds refused to appear between us and the 
sun and the latter beamed down with an intensity 
that is impossible of physical comparison between 
here and the Sahara Desert. 

In spite of the heat, the red tape mills necessarji 
for the discharge of the soldier were on the job. 
That was one place in the army that we actually 
looked for formations, instead of trying to avoid 
them with some trivial excuse. 



328 Adventures oe the A. E. F. Soldiee 

The 48 hour rule was complied with so far as 
it concerned our bunch and on Saturday after- 
noon, June 28th, the anniversary of our landing 
in Liverpool, we received our discharges. I re- 
ceived mine about the time the Peace Treaty was 
signed. 

That night the telephone booths and depots of 
Fort Worth were crowded to their capacity as the 
heroes of Fay-en-Haye and Madeleine Farm 
tried to get in touch, with "Home Sweet Home.'' 

FREE AGAIN ! It was simply great. 



Conclusion" 329 

CHAPTER XXI. 

CONCLUSION. 

Now we are back home and intend to begin 
life over, with a capital "h." There is nothing 
more for me to include in this volume except 
that I shall refer briefly to some of the leading 
topics of the day, i. e., Who won the war? The 
League of Nations, the benefits to be derived 
from the war, nationally and individually, etc. 

It is folly for any nation to grossly magnify 
her work in the great world war. As has been 
often said: ''There is glory enough for us all." 
National pride is very commendable but it 
should not be carried to the extreme and do an 
injustice to sister nations. It is not possible 
to say which particular nation won the war, 
but it is undisputable that America hastened 
its conclusion and helped to strike the fatal 
blow. Also, the very presence of American 
troops in France and Italy helped the Allies as 
much relatively, as it did directly. We can 
never know what would be the status of the 
war today had the United States remained 
neutral, but we have visions of the great city 



330 Adventures of the A. E. F. Soldier 

of Paris being completely in the German hands 
and perhaps, also, London, and the entire Brit- 
ish Isles. Mexico would likely be filled with 
German military leaders and that situation, 
which is growing more delicate every day, 
would be considerably worse than it is. 

On the other hand, our achievements could 
not have been as many nor the results as great 
had it not been for the bravery, courage, and 
tenacity of our allies. In the beginning, Bel- 
gium made ultimate victory possible by prov- 
ing to the world that she was a country and 
not a road. Next, the French and the British, 
assisted by the latter's Indian, Canadian and 
Australian troops, made a very commendable 
defense of Paris and thereby upset the Kai- 
ser's plans. Also, the Italians stayed on the 
job the entire period and brought about the 
crumbling of Austria. Had it not been for 
the British fleet our Uncle Sam could not have 
transported his nephews across with any de- 
gree of progress. Thus being convinced that 
each nation did its part why not say that we 
all won the war and let it go at that? 

Not only is there a dispute between nations 
as to who won the war but there exists the 



CONCLUSIOisT 331 

same rivalry for glory among the various 
branches of the army. This even applies to 
some extent to the various war w^ork done at 
home and to individuals. Just a word should 
be said with a view to making an equitable dis- 
tribution to these various agencies. 

The contentions between different branches 
of the army sometimes reach an unpleasant 
stage. When it is all analyzed it develops that 
none could exist without the other and that 
they are all very essential parts of the military 
machine. Personally, the infantry has my high- 
est praise. It's the doughboy who lives under 
the most hazardous conditions and faces the 
stream of machine-gun bullets and the steel 
bayonets, yet he could not accomplish so much 
without the barrage and the storming of the 
enemy's strongholds by the artillery. The 
roads and bridges which are essential to the 
movement of all the units are built by the en- 
gineers who specialize in that work and under- 
stand how it should be done. All military op- 
erations are based on orders so w^e must have 
the signal corps so that headquarters can com- 
municate with the various organizations. The 
medical corps is highly important in keeping 



332 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

the health of the men in condition to figiit and 
in caring for the wounded, restoring them, 
etc. Likewise we must have the Q. M. to 
make the abundance of corn willy possible, etc. 

Those of us in the zone of advance often felt 
envious toward the Service of Supply merely 
because they were living better than we were 
and not enduring the hardships, yet their serv- 
ices were really invaluable. We had to have 
material, food, and fresh troops. These could 
not be had with any degree of certainty unless 
we had a systematic method of transportation 
that could be relied upon. It was not possible 
for those who worked in Tours or Bordeaux 
to spend their nights in the front line trenches, 
so why not let them do their bit as they were? 

There has been a great deal of discussion ^f 
the welfare organizations and their work and 
having seen and appreciated a great deal of it, 
I feel qualified and impelled to express my 
views. 

The Salvation Army is the greatest army in 
the world in proportion to its size, although it 
is not nearly so strong as some of the other 
organizations except in the spirit of doing 
good. In that it is unexcelled. The ''dough 



Conclusion 333 

girl" is more popular in the A. E. F. than the 
dough "boy" and every soldier of the A. E. F. 
has the greatest respect and patriotic love tor 
that ''Salvation Lassie of Mine." 

The Red Cross is one of the greatest organ- 
izations in the world and it did a wonderful 
work in the w^orld war. It did not confine its 
work to medical assistance, but it assisted the 
soldiers in many ways in hotel accommodations, 
entertainment programs, athletics, serving re- 
freshments, etc. Many useful articles of cloth- 
ing were distributed through the Red Cros&. 
The Red Cross Nurse is appropriately called 
the ''Rose of No Man's Land." It is she who 
cared for so many in their dying hours and 
wrote so many sad letters home to the loved 
ones. Everv soldier respects her as he justly 
should. 

The Y. M. C. A. did not meet with the ap- 
proval that the two former organizations did. 
Some of the criticism was unjust but a lot was 
warranted. Taken as a whole, I considered 
the work of the "Y" far from a failure, al- 
though its mistakes were many. Many of the 
boys could not understand why the "Y" 
charged for tobaccos, chocolate, etc., while the 



334 Advei^tures oe the A. E. F. Soldier 

Red Cross donated them. Of course it was un- 
fair to define that as profiteering or graft be- 
cause they had taken over the canteens and 
could not give everything away as some 
seemed to think, but these business rules could 
have been relaxed to a great advantage on 
numerous occasions. There were a few in- 
stances in which boys from the front, tired and 
hungry from several successive days of battle, 
were refused refreshments because they had no 
money. Was not that outrageous when the 
boys were giving their all for the preservation of 
America and American ideals? The people at 
home who had made the contributions cer- 
tainly did not anticipate that such would hap- 
pen, on the contrary the advertisements 
showed a secretary patting the doughboy on 
the back and going over the top with him. The 
condescending attitude of so many secretaries 
and their pretended desire to ''accommodate" 
the soldier when he had his francs ready to 
pay for everything he asked for was very de- 
testable. Although the organization did lots 
of good work and should not be dissolved as 
the radicals seem to advocate, there certainly 



Conclusion 335 

should be some improvement in the manage- 
ment and elimination of the evils. 

We did not have much experience with the 
other welfare organizations* The American 
Library Association, Jewish Welfare Board, 
and the Knights of Columbus did not have 
representatives with our regiment but the 
former furnished us lots of good books to read 
through our chaplain, and we always found the 
two latter with good recreation rooms, etc., in 
the leave areas, and we enjoyed their hospi- 
tality immensely. 

While dealing with the various military 
achievements we should bear in mind that we 
owe a lot to nautical ingenuity as well. It was 
remarkable how we faced the submarines and 
crossed the Atlantic in spite of Von Tirpitz's 
prediction. 

We should not lose sight of the fact that the 
folks at home did their share in winning the 
war. Although there were profiteers and 
slackers, our country as a whole was very pa- 
triotic, for which we all rejoice. All Liberty 
Loan drives went over the top, and the War 
Savings Stamp campaigns and the drives of 
the various welfare organizations were no less 



336 Adventures op the A. E. F. Soldier 

successful. Farmers, merchants, capitalists, 
laborers and professional men worked side by 
side in helping to carry the Stars and Stripes 
to victory. Never before were the principles 
of Democracy practiced more. If the patriot- 
ism of America should be made the test for 
admission to the world above, the keeper of 
the gates would have to demand more space 
and millions of ushers. Regardless of creed, 
politics, or religion, the citizenship of our low- 
est country proved to the world that we were 
"American" to the core. 

It is useless to discuss the League of Na- 
tions question, as our Congress is consuming 
unnecessary time in that line. Suffice it to say 
that although the covenant may entangle us 
with the European countries, the majority of 
the doughboys prefer being entangled in that 
manner rather than in the barb-wire on the 
Hindenburg line. Our commercial relations 
are now so extensive that we could scarcely 
keep out of any war of any consequence, so we 
may as well be a party to covenant which will 
give us some authority to arbitrate matters 
and not be utterly handicapped in that capacity 



Conclusion 337 

as was our case in 1914. . Boiled down, it's all 
to gain and nothing to lose. 

The benefits to be derived from the war are 
many. In the first place, it taught us how to 
exercise the God-given right of self-defense. 
It taught our nation to do big things. The 
task which our War Department accomplished 
so well was a tremendous one. We can safely 
predict that the great problems like the H. C. of 
L. and, the Mexican situation can be solved far 
better than they could have if we had had no 
experience in problems like the raising of the 
National Army, etc. 

The individual reaped various benefits from 
the w^ar. When we first entered the war we 
were told that it would be a great economic 
lesson to us. We really did learn how to live 
on a great deal less than we had theretofore, 
yet this practice has been discontinued since 
the war. ended. This is due largely to the spec- 
ulative instinct engendered in us by the re- 
cent oil developments. Especially is this so in 
Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana. We do not 
take time to economize in the days of the ''Get 
Rich Quicks." If we should give any reason 
for it, it would probably be that it is more 



338 Adventuees of the A. E. F. Soldier 

trouble than it is worth. If we have any spare 
time after studying the oil-stock market it is 
far more human to complain of the high cost 
of living than to try to remedy it. 

One benefit that those of us who went to 
Europe realized is that the association with the 
people of England, France, Belgium, Italy, 
Russia, or (Germany, and the learning of their 
w^ays and customs, makes us more liberal- 
minded; but the greatest of all is the fact that 
we learned to appreciate our own country all 
the more and realize that the United States of 
America is the greatest country in the world. 

THE END. 



H 45 891 



v^ 



